The Medical Council of India (MCI) is in the process of scrutinising a complaint revealing names of 300 doctors for illegally promoting the products of an Ahmedabad based pharma company. According to the complaint, pharma company's brand which are priced 15 per cent  to 30 per cent  higher than those of well-established companies like Aristo, Alkem, Zydus, Cipla, Ranbaxy, Sun and Cadila are prescribed by doctors in lieu of gifts or alternative means of bribe.

A group of doctors were circulated a proforma by the MCI to answer questions based on the complaint. Some of the doctors have appeared before MCI's ethics committee and the rest have yet to appear along with their explanations. As per an official, scrutiny is in the preliminary stages and the chargesheet would be made only when the responses from doctors are received. Doctors have been asked to give a response in writing. This, however, may take some time.   

The complainant claimed that the firm was adding the cost of bribes to its products, forcing the patient to pay up. The complainant has sought an Income Tax probe since doctors who allegedly accepted these bribes were also found evading income tax rules. It has also been alleged that the doctors were violating basic norms and that the turnover of the pharma company had grown from zero to Rs.400 crore in just five years.

According to the complaint, the Ahmedabad-based pharma company has been paying doctors lakhs of rupees as well as gifting them cars and flats and sponsoring family foreign trips in return for prescribing its medicines even though cheaper alternatives from better known companies are available.

Of the 150 doctors summoned to appear at the last meeting of the ethics committee, 109 appeared. About 135 are left and they have been asked to appear at the next meeting of the committee in December. According to the rules, they have to be given three chances.

The letter asking doctors to appear before the committee states that the concerned doctor should bring his/her ITR, bank statement for the last three years, passport in original, as well as a set of photocopies of the said documents. The letter also states that if the doctor fails to appear on the above said date and time, the ethics committee will proceed for ex parte decision against him/her on the basis of available records in the council office.

According to the complaint, one of the ways in which the firm would bribe doctors would be by paying lakhs of rupees for running advertisements on a TV installed in their clinics.