Within the United States, approximately half of the American population has used at least one prescription medicine within the past month. This booming pharmaceutical industry is certainly cashing in; over $2 billion in pharmaceutical drug sales took place in 2011 alone.
Unfortunately, where there is booming industry, there are dishonest individuals attempting to take advantage of the systm. Within the past decade, the incidence of drug counterfeit has become an epidemic in America and the world at large.
Not only does this harm the honest individuals trying to help others through the sales and proliferation of authentic medication, but this influx of counterfeit drugs are posing real threats to those who ingest it. Counterfeit drugs are often made of ingredients that are either harmful or ineffective. This means that the patient ingesting them is either seeing absolutely no improvement to their condition, or the mysterious substance is putting their body in further danger.
So what can be done to prevent counterfeit drugs from falling into the hands of innocent consumers? While the FDA and government officials are working stridently to shut these illegal rings down, some of the most effective preventative measures are being taken at a grassroots level, with the manufacturers and pharmaceutical packaging companies themselves. Their method is called track and trace serialisation pharma.
Pharmaceutical track and trace is a relatively simple concept to grasp. At its most basic level, track and trace solutions provide accountability for the medication’s whereabouts all the way down the pharmaceutical supply train, from manufacturing, to packaging, to delivery. While the concept itself is simple, serialisation pharma is a complicated process that requires a great deal of accountability and diligence from all parties involved. When the medication goes from location to location, someone has to authorize the act. Ultimately, the serialisation pharma process results in a serial number on the medication itself; when plugged into the system, the number reveals the entire track and trace process from start to finish, ensuring product authenticity.
Medical packaging companies are taking advantage of these services more and more, and these efforts are effectively reducing the incidence of fake and harmful drugs falling into innocent hands.
