CCI to study pharma sector amid concern if unfair business ways

Study will cover hospitals, insurers, pharma firms, doctors to investigate pharma-doctor nexus

Concerned over possible nexus between doctors and pharmaceutical companies, fair trade regulator CCI will soon carry out a detailed study of pharma and healthcare services sector in the national capital region.

Public and private hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical firms and their associations, doctors and their associations, among others, would be covered under the study.

The watchdog is planning the study to understand whether there are anti-competitive practices in this sector as part of larger efforts to clamp down on unfair business practices and has also passed many orders in this regard.

In the past few years, the regulator has come across various instances in the pharmaceutical sector where competition norms seem to be have been violated.

Against this backdrop, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) will soon carry out a study about the 'pharmaceutical sector and healthcare delivery systems/ services in Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region)'.

Over the past few years, the Commission said it has come across various issues in the pharmaceutical sector and healthcare delivery systems/services.

These include "non-availability of essential medicines, increasing price of drugs, nexus between pharmaceutical companies and pharmacists, nexus between pharmacists and doctors, nexus between doctors and pathological laboratories, nexus between doctors and pharmaceutical companies, and nexus between hospitals and insurance companies etc," it said.

The regulator has made these observations while seeking Expression of Interest (EOI) from entities for carrying out the study.

CCI noted that the baseline study would look at the issues in the sectors from the competition law perspective.

"The primary objective of the baseline study/survey is to collect information and credible evidences on competition issues in the concerned sector and present the same in an analytical manner," it said.

Public and private hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and their associations, doctors and their associations, pharmacists and their associations, stockists and patients/consumers would be covered under the study to have a comprehensive assessment and analysis.

Online questionnaires and field surveys are among other methodologies that would be used to conduct the study.

The notice inviting EOI from organisations, firms and institutions for conducting the study was issued last Thursday.

CCI has imposed penalties on many chemists and druggists associations for violating competition norms.