New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- The Centre has decided to constitute a three-member expert committee to examine whether pharmaceutical companies need to be brought under a legally enforceable framework to prevent unethical marketing practices, the government told the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The decision was disclosed in an affidavit filed before the apex court, which is hearing a petition by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives' Associations of India (FMRAI) seeking a legally binding mechanism to regulate pharmaceutical marketing and unethical conduct by medical professionals. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta considered the affidavit and reserved its order. The Centre said the existing Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), 2024 was functioning satisfactorily, particularly in regulating unethicalpractices by medical practitioners. However, it acknowledged a gap in specifically regulating pharmaceutical companiesand decided to constitute the panel to examine whether a statutory framework is required and, if so, what form it should take. FMRAI's petition has highlighted alleged use of high-pressure tactics, expensive gifts, foreign trips andother "freebies" by pharmaceutical companies to influence doctors to prescribeirrational drug combinations or expensive branded medicines. The Centre said attempts between 2013 and 2018 to give statutory backing to the pharma marketing code raised questions over jurisdiction and legal enforceability. It also examined using the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, but found neither law to be an obvious fit. The government said the Drugs and Cosmetics Actprimarily regulates the manufacture, quality and sale of medicines, while the Essential Commodities Act deals with their supply, distribution and prices. A high-level committee headed by Dr VK Paul,constituted in September 2022, had recommended strengthening the existing voluntary framework rather thanmaking it statutory at that stage. This led to the UCPMP, 2024, which introduced greaterdisclosure requirements, an Ethics Committee for Pharma Marketing Practice and stricter provisions on gifts, physician samples and continuing medical education. The UCPMP will continueto apply until the proposed committee submits its report....