An AI-generated image Exactly one year after a special audit committee concluded that the pharma company AbbVie violated the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices by spending almost Rs 2 crore to sponsor luxury vacations abroad for 30 doctors, no action has been taken. The ethics board of the National Medical Commission (NMC), that is supposed to take up the complaint against the doctors, is empty barring one part-time member.After the findings of the special audit committee constituted by the department of pharmaceuticals, on the basis of an anonymous complaint, an apex committee conducted hearings to give the company a chance to defend itself. After hearing the company, this committee also concluded that there was “no justifiable reason for 30 healthcare professionals to journey abroad to Monaco and Paris” to gain knowledge about simple procedures in medical aesthetics, such as administration of “Botox and Juvederm”. “Such medical interventions are widely recognized as a lucrative commercial service and evidence attached to the complaint links healthcare professionals directly to the sale, purchase, or administration of such aesthetic products of M/s AbbVie,” stated the apex committee.In its order dated December 23, 2024, the committee let off Abbvie with just a reprimand for unethical marketing practices while asking the NMC to take action against 30 offending healthcare professionals as per the ethics code for doctors. However, the department of pharmaceuticals had not sent the names of the accused doctors to the NMC till June this year and their names are yet to be made public.In response to an RTI query the NMC revealed on December 17 that the five-member ethics and medical registration board (EMRB), which would have to hear the complaint against the doctors and decide what action is to be taken, is empty barring a part-time member. According to the health ministry’s response in Parliament on March 18 this year, the posts of the EMRB president had been vacant since June 2022 (now three-and-a-half years), and that of two whole time members since September 2022 and September 2024. In its reply, the NMC stated that “the statutory posts in NMC are filled by the central government/ministry of health and family welfare”.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosIndia’s BrahMos Missile Goes Global As India Closes $450m Defence Pacts With Vietnam And Indonesia’Make Her PM & See…’: Congress MP Endorses Priyanka Gandhi; BJP Takes ‘No Faith In Rahul’ DigHanuman Chalisa Verse Echoes In Delhi As Hindu Lynching In Bangladesh Triggers High Voltage ProtestsAfter Harassment Charge, BJP Leader Nazia Elahi Khan Dares IndiGo To Blacklist HerDonald Trump Praises Asim Munir As ‘Highly Respected’, Reiterates Eight Jets Shot Down in Op SindoorJaishankar Reveals India’s $450 Million Aid Package To Rebuild Sri Lanka After Cyclone DitwahAfter Visa Freeze, Bangladesh Summons Indian High Commissioner Amid Protests Over Hindu Lynching’90% Own Tech…Took Out Rafale, S-400′: Asim Munir Makes Absurd Claims On India-Pak Conflict’Nukes Are Tools For Escalation, Not Peace’: Student Exposes Munir’s Mindset At India vs Pak Debate’India Faces Two War Realities: Counter Terror Strikes And Long Conflicts’, Says CDS Anil Chauhan123Photostories10 most expensive places that the world visited in 2025Do you throw lemon peels away? These 5 health benefits say you shouldn’tEurope to Asia without flight: How a train journey can make it possible in around 21 days8 dishes from across India that can be made with Kachi Haldi and storedNot just sugary drinks or packed food: 7 everyday foods that cause inflammation if not consumed rightFrom Pizza to Biryani: 7 Kulhad/Matka dishes to enjoy during winter5 nutritious foods that are equivalent to taking vitamin D supplementShah Rukh Khan to Deepika Padukone: 5 standout Sabyasachi celebrity outfits of 2025 that ruled the red carpetVicky Kaushal reveals the first film he wants his son to watch, and it’s not ‘Chhaava,’ ‘Sam Bahadur,’ or ‘Sardar Udham’Bengaluru aims high: Metro targets 175km network for citywide connectivity123Hot PicksUAE WeatherPAN-Aadhaar linkingGold price predictionGold rate todaySilver rate todayPublic Holidays DecemberBank Holidays DecemberTop TrendingMax Payne Remake Release DateResident Evil Code Veronica Release DateJade Cargill and Bradon Net WorthJosh Allen and Hailee Steinfields HolidayChristen GoffPhilip RiversPaul Heyman and Marla Heyman Net WorthAaron RodgersJade Cargill and Brandon Net WorthCharles Barkley
Exactly one year after a special audit committee concluded that the pharma company AbbVie violated the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices by spending almost Rs 2 crore to sponsor luxury vacations abroad for 30 doctors, no action has been taken. The ethics board of the National Medical Commission (NMC), that is supposed to take up the complaint against the doctors, is empty barring one part-time member.After the findings of the special audit committee constituted by the department of pharmaceuticals, on the basis of an anonymous complaint, an apex committee conducted hearings to give the company a chance to defend itself. After hearing the company, this committee also concluded that there was “no justifiable reason for 30 healthcare professionals to journey abroad to Monaco and Paris” to gain knowledge about simple procedures in medical aesthetics, such as administration of “Botox and Juvederm”. “Such medical interventions are widely recognized as a lucrative commercial service and evidence attached to the complaint links healthcare professionals directly to the sale, purchase, or administration of such aesthetic products of M/s AbbVie,” stated the apex committee.In its order dated December 23, 2024, the committee let off Abbvie with just a reprimand for unethical marketing practices while asking the NMC to take action against 30 offending healthcare professionals as per the ethics code for doctors. However, the department of pharmaceuticals had not sent the names of the accused doctors to the NMC till June this year and their names are yet to be made public.In response to an RTI query the NMC revealed on December 17 that the five-member ethics and medical registration board (EMRB), which would have to hear the complaint against the doctors and decide what action is to be taken, is empty barring a part-time member. According to the health ministry’s response in Parliament on March 18 this year, the posts of the EMRB president had been vacant since June 2022 (now three-and-a-half years), and that of two whole time members since September 2022 and September 2024. In its reply, the NMC stated that “the statutory posts in NMC are filled by the central government/ministry of health and family welfare”.
