Dolo 650 has annual sales of Rs 360 crore, which is about 8 per cent of the company’s sales.
New Delhi:
Drug firm Micro Labs has rubbished allegations that it had made a free offer of Rs 1,000 crore to doctors to promote its anti-inflammatory drug Dolo 650.
An NGO told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the Central Board of Direct Taxes has accused a Bengaluru-based pharmaceutical company of disbursing Rs 1,000 crore free of cost to doctors for prescribing 650 mg tablets.
In a statement, a Micro Labs spokesperson said that it has been falsely and maliciously alleged in some recent media reports that the company is distributing free gifts worth Rs 1,000 crore in a year to promote the Dolo 650.
“This is highly misleading and is affecting the reputation of Micro Labs, the pharmaceutical industry and doctors,” the spokesperson said.
Dolo 650 has annual sales of Rs 360 crore, which is about 8 per cent of the company’s sales.
The spokesperson said that despite the raw material cost having tripled during the COVID times, Micro Labs maintained its uninterrupted supply without any change in the price below Rs 2 per tablet, the retail price fixed by the government.
The spokesperson said that with affordable alternatives like Dolo 650, doctors across the country are able to manage most of their patients in the pandemic without resorting to costly antivirals and other drugs.
“It is very absurd to think of distribution of thousands of crores of free gifts. The Company would like to clarify that the amount referred pertains to the total sales and marketing expenditure incurred by the Company for its total India business in the last five years. ” period and spent in his entire portfolio, ”said the spokesperson.
The spokesman said that doctors have prescribed the medicine on its quality, effective and fast relief from fever and a trust built over three decades.
“We are cooperating fully with the authorities to provide all necessary information and clarifications for their due consideration,” the spokesperson said.
Last month, the Income Tax Department had searched the premises of the pharmaceutical company for alleged tax evasion.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)