The
Supreme Court on Thursday stated that doctors nationwide should be required to
prescribe only generic medicines instead of branded ones. The top court was
hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the stringent regulation of
the marketing and promotion of drugs by pharmaceutical firms.
This
observation came during the hearing of a petition filed by the Federation of
Medical & Sales Representatives Associations of India (FMSRAI) and others.
The plea emphasised that large sums of money are spent on sales and promotional
activities aimed at influencing doctors to increase prescription volumes.
A
three-judge Bench, headed by Justice Vikram Nath and including Justices Sanjay
Karol and Sandeep Mehta, remarked, “We believe that doctors should be mandated
to prescribe only generic medicines. That will align with the relief you are
seeking. In Rajasthan, an executive instruction already requires all medical
professionals to prescribe only generic drugs.”
The
petitioners had questioned the effectiveness of the existing voluntary
regulatory framework and claimed that the pharmaceutical industry persists in
unethical marketing practices.
The
next hearing in the case is set to take place in July.