Dolo 650 Manufactures Denies 1000 Cr Freebies Allegations

Govindaraju further said that Dolo 650, like all other strengths of Paracetamol, is very much under price control.

Covid-19 superhero Dolo 650 manufacturers have denied the allegations of distributing freebies worth Rs 1,000 crore to doctors as consideration for prescribing the tablet. Jayaraj Govindaraju, Vice-President, communications at Pharmaceutical company Micro Labs Limited termed the allegations “baseless”.

“We have certainly not spent Rs 1,000 crore on Dolo 650 during the Covid year, as no company can spend that much amount on a brand that achieved a peak sale of about Rs 350 crore in the last year,” said Jayaraj Govindaraju, adding that the amount mentioned was the total marketing cost spend by the whole corporate for last several years cumulatively.”

Govindaraju further said that Dolo 650, like all other strengths of Paracetamol, is very much under price control.

Also Read: We’ve Not Done Anything Wrong: Manish Sisiodiya After CBI Raid

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, it became all the more popular because it had become a front-line therapy to manage fever as per the treatment protocol,” Govindaraju added.

During an interaction with news channel India Today about the report of FIR filed against the company, Govindaraju clarified that there is no FIR. “However, there was a PIL by the Federation of Medical Sales Representative of India in the Supreme Court. If we are asked to provide any explanation, data we will be ready to provide”.

The PIL by the Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Association of India has raised concerns about the control of drug formulations and prices of the medicines being sold in India.

The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna after hearing submissions by Sanjay Parikh observed that it was a serious issue.

The court has directed the Center to file its response to the PIL.