Pharma firms may be banned from offering incentives to doctors to push their products, but at the annual conference of paediatricians being held in Bengaluru, a flyer carrying 'Sankranti bonanza' is doing the rounds, offering items like digital weighing scales, gold coins and stethoscope as gifts for doctors ordering vaccines in bulk for diseases like Typhoid and Rota virus. While the flyer doesn't mention the name of any pharmaceutical company, a doctor said it was found only at the booth of one pharmaceutical company. The meeting’s chief organizer said that there's no such thing. There are never any incentives for vaccines.
If someone buys vaccines in bulk, they may get a reduction in the overall price. The Medical Council of India (MCI) prohibits pharmaceutical companies from offering incentives and freebies to doctors. But the flyer offering a 'Sankranti bonanza' was distributed at…
