Indian taskforce recommends unique ID codes and SMS verification

A task force set up to advise the Indian government on strategies to protect the public from exposure to counterfeit medicines has recommended the adoption of unique identification codes on drug packs, coupled with authentication via a SMS.

The task force was set up last year and is chaired by Dr. Hemant Koshia, who is the director of the Food & Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) of Gujarat.

It has arrived at a conclusion very similar to that of the Drug Consultative Committee in February 2011, which recommended unique IDs in a human-readable format that will allow consumers to self-authenticate their medicines by sending the code via text message to a central phone number.

The brief issued to the committee was to identify realistic and cost-effective strategies for protecting medicines produced for domestic consumption in India, as the country takes steps to protect its valuable pharmaceutical export industry.

India is also planning to protect medicines destined for export via a barcoding system that will add unique product identification code and serial numbers to primary packaging.

Some product lines in India already carry coding and SMS-based verification systems supplied by companies such as PharmaSecure, Kezzler, Sproxil and mPedigree, while similar schemes have already been rolled out or piloted for medicines sold in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana.

"The task force recommended this particular solution for track and trace is based on its viability and affordability for implementing across the Indian pharmaceutical market," said PharmaSecure in a statement, adding that the panel also suggested that the technology be implemented in several phases.

"The task force recommendation is now in the hands of the Indian government who will make a decision on whether or not to require this track and trace technology as an addendum to the Drug and Cosmetics Act," added the company.