The much-awaited Uniform Code of Pharma Marketing Practices will officially be notified by next month and would be implemented on a voluntary basis for the six months, the Central government told the industry here on Wednesday.

The decision to make it mandatory will be taken after assessing the response from industries for the first six months, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) told in a meeting with the stakeholders. Though the industry suggested the formula of appointing an ombudsman to monitor the practices, the Government did not give a commitment.

The meeting was called in the wake of increasing number of illegal trade practices like offering incentives, gifts and foreign trips to doctors for prescriptions and the patients were being forced to buy expensive brands of drugs to serve the interest of the doctors.

The representatives of the industry opposed the suggestion of making the code mandatory, but agreed to adhere to the code on voluntary basis. They also took exception to many clauses in the code like restricting the number of samples to the doctors.

The Government, it is learnt, that expressed its displeasure on the growing incidents of illegal practices and urged the industry to stick to the code. It also made it clear that the code may be made mandatory if the industry failed to implement them on their own.

Various industry bodies like Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and Indian Drugs Manufacturers Association (IDMA) attended the meeting.

The DoP has also asked the industry associations to come with suggestions on the ombudsman within a week.

Last year, the DoP had formulated a voluntary marketing code with an aim to end the alleged practice of pharmaceutical firms giving incentives to doctors to prescribe their medicines. The modified code, after incorporating the suggestions of the stakeholders, was sent to the industry associations in March this year.