A Look at Hidden

Relationships with

Healthcare: Real

Pharmaceutical related

Tensions

Piyush Tripathi

Sneha PriyaMBA – Pharmaceutical Management

A major point of contact

between the doctor and

the pharmaceutical

companies ?

SALES

REPRESENTATIVES

Marketing Practices -

Gift Giving / Pleasant Offers

Memories

Preceptorship

Free Samples

Support in Clinical Matters

CME Conferences

Drug Trials (PMS etc.)

According to one source,

the number of drug sales

representatives in US

increased by 57% between

1990 and 2000, so that by

2001 there were 90,000

representatives.

the Medical Council of India

(MCI)

(Code of Ethics

Regulations)

In 2001, TAP

Pharmaceuticals paid a

record-setting fine to the

federal government for

inflating the price of the

drug “Lupron”.

A $50 million

settlement was reached

between the government &

Genetech in 1999 following

allegations involving off-

label promotion of

Protropin.

In 2004, AstraZeneca

settled charges that it had

engaged in illegal

marketing practices of its

drug Zoladex, and that it

had encouraged doctors to

bill Medicare and Medicaid

for the free samples they

had given to patients.

In August, 2012 Pfizer Inc

paid $60.2 million to settle

a U.S. probe involving

illegal payments to win

business overseas,

including kickbacks such

as cellphones and tea sets

given to doctors in China.

promised to give citizens

some relief from their

medical expenses.

The Quantity of Punishment

I. Gifts / Cash or Travel Facility (1,000

to Rs 5,000)

WARNING

I. Bribes (Rs 5,000 to 10,000)

SUSPENSION for three months

I. Bribes (Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 )

SUSPENSION for six months

I. Bribes (>Rs 50,000 )

SUSPENSION for one year

NO QUANTITY OF PUNISHMENT

According to an internal email

dated October 11, 2012 from Mr.

Sudarshan Jain, MD of Abbott

Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, the gift-giving

has been temporarily suspended.

A Business that makes

nothing but money, is a poor

kind of business.

- Henry Ford

CONCLUSION

Can be a significant burden for the 400

million people in India who live on less than

$1.25 a day.

The bottom line is that in their relationships

with industry, health professionals must be

focused exclusively on scientific purposes,

NOT marketing tactics. The government must

aggressively target the pharmaceutical and

device industry's marketing practices to

physicians, as well as physicians themselves

in some instances.