Supreme Court orders Centre to form panel on unethical pharmaceutical marketing

The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 8, 2026) directed the Union government to constitute an expert committee to examine whether pharmaceutical companies should be brought under a legally enforceable framework to curb unethical marketing practices.

Also Read: ‘Broad daylight dacoity’, says Supreme Court on overpricing of essential cancer drugs

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed the Centre to constitute the committee in line with its earlier directions and observations.

“We have directed the Union of India to constitute the committee and give its recommendations in terms of our previous directives and observations. The matter will be placed before the Court on January 29, 2027, to show compliance with the orders of the Court,” Justice Mehta said, reading out the operative part of the order in open court.

The top court issued the directions while hearing a petition filed by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives’ Associations of India (FMRAI), seeking a statutory mechanism to regulate pharmaceutical marketing and check alleged unethical practices involving medical professionals.

The petition had raised concerns over pharmaceutical companies allegedly offering doctors expensive gifts, overseas trips, and other incentives, besides resorting to aggressive promotional practices, to encourage the prescription of particular drugs.

Earlier, in an affidavit filed before the Court, the Union government had said that the existing Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), 2024, was functioning satisfactorily in addressing unethical marketing practices. It, however, acknowledged a regulatory gap when it came to bringing pharmaceutical companies within a statutory framework.

The government had also outlined its previous attempts to give statutory backing to rules governing pharmaceutical marketing, informing the Court that efforts made between 2013 and 2018 had raised questions over the appropriate legal authority and how such regulations could be enforced.

The Centre subsequently constituted a high-level committee headed by Dr. V.K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, in September 2022. The committee favoured continuing with a voluntary code, with stronger safeguards, instead of making it legally binding.

This led to the introduction of the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), 2024, which brought in additional disclosure requirements, an Ethics Committee for Pharma Marketing Practices (ECPMP), and stricter provisions governing gifts, physician samples, and continuing medical education. It also laid down timelines for dealing with complaints, along with audit and referral mechanisms, and provided for an Apex Committee for Pharma Marketing Practices (ACPMP).

The committee will now examine whether the existing voluntary code needs statutory backing and make its recommendations to the Centre.

The Bench will take up the matter again on January 29, 2027, to examine compliance with its directions.

The petition before the top court had claimed that, though termed as ‘sales promotion’, in fact, direct or indirect advantages are offered to doctors (as gifts and entertainment, sponsored foreign trips, hospitality, and other benefits) in exchange for an increase in drug sales.

It had contended that such unethical promotion could influence doctors’ prescribing practices and adversely affect patients, leading to the over-prescription of medicines, the use of unnecessarily high doses, treatment for longer than required, and the prescription of an excessive number or irrational combination of drugs.