From guidelines on the marketing practices of medicines to regulating the sale of medical devices and antibiotics, the Government is poised to take steps involving the pharmaceutical industry and doctors, government officials said.

In consultation with the Health Ministry, guidelines are being outlined to regulate interactions between the pharma industry and medical practitioners, said B.K. Singh, Director, Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP). Covering grey areas such as drug companies sponsoring continuing medical education programmes, the guidelines would initially call for voluntary action, he said. The next step would be taken depending on their effectiveness, he added.

A move to regulate the sale and prescription of antibiotics too was on the anvil, said Shailendra Kumar, Director at the Health Ministry. Another bill to increase regulatory coverage on more medical devices had also been formulated, he added.

The officials were in Mumbai to participate in an event organised by the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI).

Free medicines

Kumar further said the much-anticipated roll-out of free medicines would start by April next year. States had been given a free hand to follow any model that suited them, he added. The Ministry had also earmarked Rs 1,200 crore towards improving drug control departments in the States, including increasing the number of inspectors, he added.

Both officials urged the industry to step up and bridge the “trust deficit” that exists between the industry and the Government. For instance, said DoP’s Singh, the department had Rs 500 crore for pharma industry-related schemes, but it had not been utilised as the industry had not shown interest in participating. Giving the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s perspective, member secretary, Sanjay Garg, also related the perceptions of the pharma industry.

The buyers (patients in this case) had no choice in the medicines prescribed to them. These decisions were, in a sense, between the doctors and the companies, he said.

He said there was a difference of 100 to 5,600 per cent in the prices of medicines sold at the retail level and to institutions. Also, there was a difference of 2,000 per cent between the price to the retailer and the final price to the consumer, he added.

Earlier, OPPI President Ranjit Shahani pointed out that affordability was not a function of price, but ability to pay. All stakeholders needed to share responsibility to tackle this, he said.

>jyothi.datta@thehindu.co.in

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