The Department of Pharmaceuticals has notified a new code UCPMP 2024 which prohibits pharma companies.

National

The Centre has notified UCPMP 2024 code which prohibits pharma companies from offering gifts and travel facilities to healthcare professionals or their family members. The Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024 issued by the Department of Pharmaceuticals also bans supply of free samples to those who are not qualified to prescribe such a product. The guidelines which prohibit pharma companies from offering gifts to healthcare professionals state: “No gift should be offered or provided for personal benefit of any healthcare professional or family member (both immediate and extended) by any pharmaceutical company or its agent. No pecuniary (relating to or consisting of money) advantage or benefit in kind may be offered, supplied, or promised to any person qualified to prescribe or supply drugs, by any pharmaceutical company or its agents. Sample packs should be limited to prescribed dosage for not more than three patients for the required course of treatment and no company should offer more than 12 such sample packs per drug to any healthcare practitioner per year.


      Each sample should be marked “free medical sample not for sale” or bear another legend of analogous meaning.

     

     

 

     


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