‘Baseless and incorrect’: Dolo-650 manufacturer on allegations it gifted ‘freebies’ to doctors

Bengaluru-based Micro Labs Limited's response came a day after the issue was raised in the Supreme Court.

Bengaluru-based Micro Labs Limited on Friday said that allegations against the pharmaceutical firm that it gifted freebies worth ₹1,000 crore among doctors to promote its Dolo-650 tablets were ‘baseless and incorrect’.

Bengaluru-based Micro Labs Limited manufactures Dolo-650 tablets (PTI)

“The brand did a business of just ₹350 crore when Covid-19 was at its peak, and, therefore, it was simply unviable for us to promote the drug by spending a much larger amount,” Jayaraj Govindaraju, an Executive VP at Micro Labs Limited told news agency ANI.

Govindaraju also said that it was ‘impossible’ for any firm to spend ₹1,000 crore on the marketing of a brand that made only ₹350 crore in the Covid-19 year.

Though Dolo 650, a popular fever drug, was in high demand during the Covid-19 waves, Govindaraju claimed that products of other companies, too, were used widely during these waves. “Even other Covid-19 protocol drugs like Vitamin C and Vitamin combinations also did very well,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, the company's response came a day after a petitioner told the Supreme Court that a ‘particular drug manufacturer’ spent ‘hundreds of crores in freebies’ among medical practitioners.

In July, the Income Tax department had conducted searches at the premises of Micro Labs Limited over alleged tax evasion.