Long before ‘Liver Doc’, this doctor fought defamation by a pharma company – and won

On September 28, the social media platform X, formerly called Twitter, withheld the account of Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as ‘The Liver Doc’.

The blocking order, from a Bengaluru civil court, was in response to a defamation suit filed by Himalaya Wellness against Philips in end-September for social media posts against one of the wellness company’s top selling herbal products, Liv.52.

This is not the first time that a pharmaceutical or wellness company has taken the defamation route to quell criticism of its products.

Twelve years ago, when social media platforms were not the indispensable medium of communication they are now, a Danish pharma company Lundbeck had filed a civil defamation suit against the Bengaluru-based editor of a medical journal.

In a 2009 article, Dr Chandra Gulhati, who was then the editor of Monthly Index of Medical Specialities, had pointed out that an anti-depressant drug made by Lundbeck was being sold in India – even though Denmark had prohibited its sale in its home market.

This was a clear violation of India’s Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which mandates that a drug can only be imported in India if it has been approved for sale in the home country.

Only 23 countries had approved the anti-depressant, Deanxit. “These were...

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