Despite all the fakeness in the world, if there is anything a man can never tolerate being fake, it is food, water, and medicines.
Medicines as a medium to cure ailments and diseases come under the basic requirements of a man to lead a healthy, disease-free life. However, the threat of fake medicines has spurred a massive fear, making people hesitant to trust their pills and syrups.
Thankfully, technology is by our side, and thus we can expect a way to detect fake medicines in seconds in the upcoming days. Yes, in the coming time, you will be able to check if the medicine you are about to purchase or consume is real and safe or not.
The government plans to bring forward a unique “track and trace” mechanism for top-selling medicines. The purpose is to safeguard customers against the consumption of fake and substandard medicines, thereby ensuring quality.
Working Of The “Track And Trace” Mechanism
The first phase of the mechanism will involve 300 top selling drugs affixing or printing Quick Response (QR) codes or barcodes on their “primary” packaging labels.
Primary packaging is the very first-level product packaging. These codes may be affixed on medicines including cardiac pills, antibiotics, pain-relief pills, anti-allergics and more having an MRP of over Rs. 100 per strip.
The “track and trade” mechanism for medicines was actually conceptualized a decade ago. However, the move was in abeyance because of less preparedness in the domestic pharma industry.
In June, the pharma companies were asked by the government to print or affix QR codes or barcodes on their primary or secondary package label, that contain and store data or information legible with software applications leading to authentication.
With the software being in place, consumers will be capable of checking the authenticity of the medicine with the help of the unique ID code on a website designed by the ministry, and later, track it with the ease of their mobile phones or a text message.
More and more options are being studied. These include setting up a central database agency as a primary and single barcode provider to the complete industry. However, adding it could require some more weeks to implement.
As per an industry member, the implementation of the system will escalate by 3-4%. He stated further that many companies have already voluntarily started to put QR codes. The industry experts say that the proposed software solution should permit manufacturers and consumers to report counterfeit pharma codes with the help of the mobile application.
Recent Instances Of Falsified Or Substandard Medicines
Instances of counterfeit medicines are not new, and in recent years, the pharma industry has witnessed many such instances. For instance, Abbott claimed that its thyroid medicine, Thyronorm, listed by the Telangana drugs authority, was “not of standard quality” and was not a product manufactured or marketed by it.
One more such incident of fake medicines was when a fake drug racket of the blood-pressure pill Telma-H by Glenmark, at Baddi came to light.
What Does The World Health Organization Have To Say?
The World Health Organization warns that while around 10% of medical products in low-and middle-income countries are falsified, counterfeit, or substandard, such falsified medical products could be found in any part of the world.
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