NEW DELHI: In a first action of its kind, the pharma department has pulled up multinational AbbVie Healthcare for violating the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices by taking 30 doctors to Paris and Monaco to improve their “knowledge” on popular anti-aging products Botox and Juvederm, and asked tax authorities to assess the liability of the company and the physicians.
The department has also asked the National Medical Commission to undertake action for professional misconduct by the doctors – 24 went to Paris and six to Monaco.
Company spent over Rs 1.9 crore on travel tickets, hotels for doctors
UCPMP guidelines forbid pharmaceutical companies from offering “travel and hospitality” to any healthcare professional.
AbbVie Healthcare India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of American pharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc, spent over Rs 1.9 crore on travel tickets & hotel accommodations for doctors, according to an audit carried out by pharma department. AbbVie did not respond to an email sent for clarification on the matter by TOI.
However, according to an order issued by the pharma department, a copy of which is with TOI, the company justified its breach as “acceptable industry practice”. Later, AbbVie claimed that the company had entered into a professional service agreement with the doctors to compensate them for their services, which again did not cut ice with investigators from the apex committee for pharma marketing practices that comes under the pharma department.
“The agreements entered by M/s AbbVie do not clarify why such highly trained healthcare professionals (HCPs) need to be provided with foreign travel opportunities to gain knowledge about simple procedures in medical aesthetics… Such medical interventions are widely recognised as a lucrative commercial service and evidence attached to the complaint links HCPs directly to the sale, purchase or administration of such aesthetic products of M/s AbbVie,” the investigators pointed out, and suggested remedial action.
They asked the company to extend support to underprivileged patients receiving treatment at govt hospitals for an equivalent to the violations computed by the audit team. AbbVie rejected the committee’s offer on Dec 10, following which the pharma department issued orders to assess the company’s tax liability on account of the violation.