Published on 23 Mar 2025
• The Department of Pharmaceuticals issued the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024.
• It aims to ensure transparency, integrity, and accountability in the marketing of pharmaceutical products, emphasising ethical practices within the industry.
• Under the UCPMP 2024, several key provisions have been outlined to govern the conduct of pharmaceutical companies and their representatives. These include:
It prohibits the offering or providing of gifts for the personal benefit of any healthcare professional or their family members by pharmaceutical companies, agents, distributors, wholesalers, or retailers.
The promotion of a drug must be consistent with the terms of its marketing approval, and a drug must not be promoted prior to the receipt of its marketing approval from the competent authority, authorising its sale or distribution.
All Indian pharmaceutical associations are to upload the UCPMP on their website along with the detailed procedure for lodging of complaints, which will be linked to the UCPMP portal of the Department of Pharmaceuticals.
Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices
Pharmaceutical industry
drugs