PHM-Exch> Abbot suspends giving gifts to doctors in India

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Gopal Dabade <drdabade at gmail.com>


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/16/us-abbott-india-doctors-idUSBRE89F1N820121016

Exclusive: Abbott suspends giving gifts to doctors in India



By Frederik Joelving

*NEW YORK* | Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:03pm EDT

(Reuters Health) - Abbott Laboratories Inc has instructed its sales
representatives in India not to give gifts to doctors, who are prohibited
by local law from accepting them, a practice that has been used as a
bargaining chip by companies wanting a piece of the country's burgeoning
healthcare market.

According to an internal email dated October 11 from Sudarshan Jain,
managing director of Abbott Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, the gift-giving has been
temporarily suspended.

"Only Abbott-approved clinical/scientific literature may be distributed to
current and potential customers," said the email, which was reviewed by
Reuters on Tuesday. "No brand reminders or therapy reminders in your
possession should be given to any current and potential customer and no
further brand reminders or therapy reminders should be ordered."

Accepting gifts or travel arrangements from drugmakers is against the law
in India, but enforcement is inconsistent.

Public health experts say gift-giving leads to dangerous overprescribing
and unnecessary use of expensive medications when cheaper versions are
available. That can be a significant burden for the 400 million people in
India who live on less than $1.25 a day.

A sales representative with Abbott Healthcare told Reuters that therapy
reminders are low-value items such as pens, whereas brand reminders refer
to electrical appliances and other pricier merchandise.

The representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was not
worried about his job getting harder without the gifts, but, he quipped, it
would certainly make his bag lighter.

As multinational drug companies ramp up investments in emerging markets to
realize billions of dollars in annual sales, they have faced increased
scrutiny from the United States and European governments. U.S. authorities
are currently probing a number of leading global drugmakers for kickbacks
and bribery overseas.

A Reuters investigation in September showed Abbott's Indian subsidiaries
plied doctors with scanners, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers and similar
items in return for prescribing the company's drugs to patients. Sales
representatives were shown lists of gifts in strategy guides issued by the
company.

In August, Pfizer Inc paid $60.2 million to settle a U.S. probe involving
illegal payments to win business overseas, including kickbacks such as
cellphones and tea sets given to doctors in
China<http://www.reuters.com/places/china>.
Last year, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $70 million to settle U.S.
charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that it had bribed
healthcare providers in Greece, Poland and Romania.

Scott Davies, a spokesman for Chicago-based Abbott Labs, confirmed the
decision but declined to say what had prompted the move. He said he was not
aware of any inquiries from regulators about the company's dealings in
India.

"This is an internal action," he told Reuters. "We are suspending that
brand reminder program while we review it."

Davies said the suspension encompasses Abbott Healthcare and Abbott True
Care, but did not have information on whether other Indian subsidiaries
would continue the practice. He declined to address travel payments.
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