The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) is taking an initiative to bring in an ethical marketing code for pharmaceutical products with the support of drug industry associations and the medical fraternity. As a first step, the OPPI will revise its existing code of pharmaceutical marketing for its members by January 2007.

The OPPI will be talking to the associations like Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) and Indian Medical Association (IMA), Cardiological Society of India (CSI) and Indian Society for Paediatric Cardiology to frame an industry code of ethical promotion and marketing of drugs, according to Dr Ajith Dangi, Director General, OPPI.

"We are also ready to help the organisations to formulate similar code, if they are interested. Our plan is to formulate an industry code and our hope is that it should be incorporated into the Drugs & Cosmetics Act later," he told Pharmabiz. The OPPI is of the view that the Good Marketing Practices should also be included in the Act similar to Good Manufacturing Practice, Good Clinical Practices and Good Laboratory Practices, he added.

The OPPI Code on Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices is the revised edition of the code introduced in 1998 in line with the guidelines of International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA). The code helps the members to follow ethical marketing conduct in sales promotion including marketing through general practitioners and physicians and caution on stretching of FDA approved claims, subject to voluntary adaptation.

The revised code, with updates in context of globalisation of Indian pharmaceutical industry is expected to be launched by January 16,2007 at Habitat Centre, New Delhi, informed Dr Dangi. The executive committee of OPPI has approved the revised code recently, and the Organisation would suggest the members to abide by it to ensure the safety of their products. It will restrict the companies from offering gifts or any kind of favours to the medical practitioners as the part of sales promotion.

OPPI will also appoint a board of independent Juries consisting of experienced doctors, lawyers and other related professionals. The committee will have the right to recommend action if it finds violation of the code by the members companies and will ask the company to correct the error. Expulsion of the members will be resorted to only if violation is a serious nature, Dangi explained.

Though there are apprehensions among the members in practicing the code, in the long-term that will turn out to be favourable to the companies. "The revised code comes in the backgrounds of rapid growth in Indian Pharma industry, where we all need global standards of manufacturing and marketing to ensure safety and efficacy of products internationally," Dr Dangi added.