The Supreme Court strongly advocated for making the prescription of generic medicines mandatory for doctors across India. This came during a hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking regulation of unethical marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies. The PIL was filed by the Federation of Medical & Sales Representatives Associations of India (FMSRAI) and others, challenging the effectiveness of the existing voluntary code that currently governs pharmaceutical marketing.
The Court observed that doctors should be obligated to prescribe only generic medicines, emphasizing that such a measure would support the petitioners' demands. The Bench also cited Rajasthan’s recent executive order mandating all medical professionals in the state to prescribe only generic medicines, describing it as a positive example. The petitioners filed the instant writ petition seeking strict…
