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In a move to curb unethical promotional practices in the pharma sector after the introduction of the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), the Apex Committee for Pharma Marketing Practices under the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has cracked whip on AbbVie Healthcare India, the Indian arm of global biopharma major AbbVie Inc.
The Committee, headed by Arunish Chawla, Secretary of DoP, reprimanded the company for unethical marketing practices sponsoring foreign vacations to Monaco and Paris for 30 healthcare professionals (HCPs) in violation of the UCPMP.
It has also requested the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to evaluate the tax liability of the company along with the 30 HCPs and take action in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the related circulars.
Besides, the Committee also requested the National Medical Council (NMC) to take action against the 30 HCPs as per Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.
The Committee acted on an anonymous complaint, which was accompanied by documents supporting the claims, including AbbVie's internal records featuring a sales and expense tracker, outlining expenditures for each doctor's travel and copies of flight tickets and hotel booking vouchers.
The complaint was that AbbVie provided travel tickets and hotel accommodations for extravagant pleasure trips under the guise of conferences on Aesthetics and Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress, 2024, which took place from February 1 to 3 and from March 26 to 29, in Monaco and Paris, respectively, for 30 doctors connected to the medical aesthetics or anti-ageing products of Botox and Juvéderm.
Considering that the allegations were severe and explicitly contravened the UCPMP, the DoP forwarded the complaint to the Ethics Committee for Pharma Marketing Practices (ECPMP), set up by the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) to take appropriate action, and simultaneously, decided to conduct a special audit of the company.
While the ECPMP of OPPI saw no irregularities in AbbVie's sponsorship of the HCPs, the Special Audit Committee validated the facts in the complaint and observed that AbbVie has breached the UCPMP 2014 and 2024. AbbVie had spent Rs 1.91 crore for travel tickets and hotel accommodations in foreign locations, for 24 doctors travelling to Paris and six doctors to Monaco.
AbbVie, in a hearing conducted by the Apex Committee, tried to justify the breach as acceptable industry practice and claimed that it has entered into professional service agreement with these HCPs to compensate them for their services.
The Apex Committee, finding that AbbVie has violated the UCPMP, asked the company to consider remedial action by extending support to underprivileged patients receiving treatment at Government Hospitals for an amount equivalent to the violations computed by the Special Audit Team. However, the company chose to reject the Apex Committee's offer, it added.
It may be noted that the DoP has issued a new version of the UCPMP in 2024 after the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Association of India approached the Supreme Court seeking establishment of a Statutory Code of ethical marketing for the pharmaceutical industry with provisions for penal actions against violators. While the UCPMP was introduced in 2014 and implemented since January 1, 2015, it was not enforceable under any law or statute of the government, said the Department while introducing the new code.
NMC has also come out with strict directions to the HCPs related to accepting favours, gifts, foreign tours, among others, from pharmaceutical companies.
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