Supreme Court has directed the federal government to form a panel to examine whether drugmakers should be governed by rules to curb unethical marketing practices, putting renewed pressure on the industry over its dealings with doctors.

A two-judge bench said the committee of experts should come up with specific proposals on the need for a statutory mechanism. The court will review the government’s suggestions in January.

The order came in a case brought by a lobby of salespeople — the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives’ Associations of India — seeking rules against expensive gifts, foreign trips and other incentives allegedly being offered to influence doctors’ decisions to prescribe medicines.

As much as 90% of the prescriptions in India are influenced by doctor marketing, with pharmaceutical companies spending as much as 30% of their revenues on large teams of medical representatives, according to a report by Avendus Capital Pvt. About 98% of the drugs advised are branded generics, with physicians relying on top names for quality, it said.

India currently depends on the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices, 2024 to prevent unethical marketing of medicines. Its provisions introduced tighter disclosure and monitoring requirements, including an ethics committee and an apex panel to review complaints.

Still, enforcement has been weak as it wasn’t passed through any legislative or statutory process. The government previously considered adding the code to the Essential Commodities Act and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, but questions over jurisdiction and implementation stalled the move.