PharmaSecure expands TB programme in India

A project in India that aims to boost compliance with medicines with the  help of serialized medicine packs has been expanded after a successful first phase.

The Grand Challenges in TB programme - backed by USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council - is designed to help alleviate the problem in India using technological interventions.

The programme is a good example of the additional benefits that can accrue from a serialization programme for medicines in addition to protecting the public from counterfeit, diverted or stolen medicines.

The full text of the press release appears below:

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PharmaSecure advances to phase two of “Grand Challenges in TB Control” grant program in India, sponsored by The Gates Foundation and USAID

Transforming healthcare delivery in emerging markets by tracking the distribution of medicines and understanding the behavior and outcomes of the patients who use them
 
PharmaSecure, a leading global provider of brand protection and customer engagement solutions, has been one of four organizations selected to advance to phase two of the "Grand Challenges in TB Control" grant program, sponsored by the Gates Foundation and USAID, to find novel solutions to improve the health outcomes of patients with Tuberculosis (TB). Results from the first phase of the program in India showed that patients who were enrolled in PharmaSecure's psConnect™ patient management platform had 60% greater reported adherence to the TB drug regimen than non-enrolled patients.

"We're focusing on ways to make anti-counterfeiting solutions a powerful force for public good by impacting key public health challenges like TB and Malaria," said Nakul Pasricha, CEO of PharmaSecure. "This project leverages our serialization platform, which has already protected 1.5 billion packages against counterfeiting, to help drive TB adherence and improve patient health outcomes."

In phase one of the program, PharmaSecure enrolled patients in their psConnect™ patient management and engagement platform to help TB patients complete their treatment regimen using customized reminders and incentives. Those patients who were enrolled in PharmaSecure's psConnect™ patient management platform received either a reminder SMS, automated phone calls, or a direct call from a PharmaSecure patient liaison.

A typical TB treatment regimen requires daily doses of antibiotics for 3-9 months and missing doses can lead to complications in treatment and may lead to drug resistance, potentially risking lives and wasting public health funding. TB is second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest killer worldwide due to a single infectious agent. In 2013, 9 million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died from the disease according to the World Health Organization. In India alone there were over 2 million incidences of TB in 2013 and an estimated 40% of the population is infected with TB bacteria, the vast majority of which is latent rather than active TB.
 
Phase two of the program will involve expanding to further geographies within India including Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as expanding the scope of the program to not only understand the impact on patient adherence, but also the drivers of adherence. Some of these drivers include the circumstances that a patient finds themselves in (e.g., no access to running water) and the challenges they face in adhering to treatment (e.g., lack of time).