Supreme Court orders review of pharma marketing regulation

The Supreme Court has directed the Union government to constitute a committee to examine whether pharmaceutical companies’ marketing practices need statutory regulation and recommend what form any such rules should take. The court scheduled a compliance review for January 29, 2027, leaving both the committee’s recommendations and the government’s eventual decision unresolved. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the government would establish a three-member committee to assess the need for a statutory framework. He said it would consider stakeholder suggestions and objections and recommend measures to the government. The government had sought two months for the committee to report, but the sources do not confirm that it has been formally constituted or begun work. The case concerns benefits such as gifts, hospitality, travel and other incentives offered by pharmaceutical companies to doctors to promote their products. The government told the court that existing rules allow disciplinary action against doctors who accept such benefits. Petitioners argued that the framework does not provide a corresponding mechanism to penalize companies that offer them.