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QR code to curb spurious drugs circulation & its traceability through supply chain in Indian pharma
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
October 31 , 2022
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High optimism prevails on the implementation of QR code which would aid faster traceability through the supply chain among Indian pharma.
Nakul Pasricha, president, Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA), noted that a sharp spike was observed in the number of counterfeiting incidents related to pharma and medical products estimated as high as at 47 percent. This problem has gone under-addressed, warranting an immediate need for a corrective action.
Authentication and traceability solutions also help in tracking the product both in the global and domestic supply chain. It proves to be a great tool to aid investigation, and find the problem point and the culprit. The European Union’s Falsified Medicines Directive is a great example of a regulation that requires both GS1 standard barcodes enabling authentication at the point of dispensation, as well as tamper-evident features that can alert users if there is any issue with the drug package, he added.
The government announced making QR Codes mandatory on 300 top selling drugs. This is to be implemented from May 1, 2023. Before that there was move to make QR Codes mandatory for APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) which is to be implemented from January 1, 2023. “These would help curb spurious drug circulation and its traceability across the supply chain,” he stated.
The Indian pharma has made rapid progress on one hand, but on the other there is the unfortunate struggle with spurious and substandard drugs. Pharmaceutical and medical products have been for many years one of the key targets of counterfeiters, Pasricha told Pharmabiz.
While estimates vary, WHO has found that up to 1 in 10 medical products in low-and middle-income countries may be substandard or falsified. In India, studies have found that the number of substandard drugs to be about 4-5%. Even during the Covid pandemic, criminals took advantage of the high demand to sell spurious drugs and other medical essentials, he said.
Pharma sector faces various risks including supply chain security, product verification, falsification, counterfeiting, and illicit trade including theft and diversion. The industry’s global supply chain complexities can be addressed with standard-based phygital which is combination of physical + digital approach is the future. Here QR Codes enable storing of important information which can be seen by scanning a document or image. They can help in determining the authenticity, tracing products, empower various supply chain stakeholders and assist in investigation, he said.
Application of QR Codes will make a difference. Without widespread implementation of such digitally enabled solutions, we will not be able to make a dent in the circulation of spurious drugs. Reasons such as drastic mismatch in demand and supply of medical care especially in rural areas; fragmented and human intensive supply chain; lack of awareness; cost effectiveness; corruption and poor implementation of anti-counterfeiting, authentication and traceability solutions make it difficult to detect counterfeit drugs. To tackle a problem this complex demands sensitisation, stringent regulations, strict law enforcement and action against defaulters, said Pasricha.
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