UCPMP builds upon its predecessor, the Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (2015 Code), which came into effect on January 1, 2015. There was an anticipation for a considerable time that the 2015 Code would be enforced as a codified law, but it remained as a set of guidelines that could be voluntarily followed by pharmaceutical companies with respect to marketing practices.
Until the UCPMP was notified as law, there was no law to regulate the marketing practices of pharmaceutical or medical device companies in India. As lawyers advising healthcare companies on issues related to marketing practices over the years, the legal advice was primarily based on the good practices set out in the voluntary 2015 Code, and the code of pharmaceutical practices issued by the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI Code). Wherever any such practice required interaction between healthcare companies and medical doctors, the healthcare companies were advised to align their marketing practices with the provisions of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 (MCI Regulations) which prescribe the code of conduct and ethics to be adhered to by medical doctors.
To a good extent, the UCPMP imbibes the elements of its predecessor, the voluntary 2015 Code, the OPPI Code and the MCI Regulations. But unlike the 2015 Code and the OPPI Code, the UCPMP is not limited to a prescription of good marketing practices for healthcare companies but provides legal force to the code of conduct to be adhered to by both pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Source: Barandbench
