The pharmaceutical department has taken steps to hold multinational company AbbVie Healthcare accountable for breaching the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP).
The company is accused of taking 30 doctors to Paris and Monaco to improve their “knowledge” on Botox and Juvederm, popular anti-ageing products. As a result, the pharma department has called on tax authorities to assess the liability of both AbbVie and the physicians involved.
The National Medical Commission has also been asked to look into potential professional misconduct by the doctors.
According to an audit conducted by the pharma department, AbbVie Healthcare India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the American pharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc, spent over Rs 1.9 crore on travel tickets and hotel accommodations for the doctors.
The company arranged for 24 doctors to travel to Paris and six to Monaco. However, AbbVie did not respond to a request for clarification on the matter.
An official order issued by the pharma department revealed that AbbVie justified the actions as “acceptable industry practice”. However, the company later claimed that it had entered into professional service agreements with the doctors to compensate them for their services.
This justification did not convince investigators from the apex committee for pharma marketing practices, which operates under the pharma department.
Investigators noted that the agreements did not explain why such highly trained healthcare professionals needed to travel abroad to learn about simple medical procedures in aesthetic treatments. The medical interventions in question are widely considered lucrative commercial services and evidence presented by the complainants connected the healthcare professionals to the sale, purchase or administration of AbbVie’s aesthetic products.
The investigators recommended that AbbVie take remedial action, including providing support to underprivileged patients receiving treatment at government hospitals, equivalent to the value of the violations as determined by the audit.
AbbVie rejected the committee’s proposal on December 10, prompting the pharma department to take further action. The department has now ordered a tax liability assessment for the company as a result of the violation.
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