Blockchain-based solutions to prevent counterfeit drugs

It’s an undeniable fact that fake medicines are an increasing threat to people at a global level. Can blockchain prevent the problem of counterfeit drugs?

According to WHO, fake medicines often fail to offer treatment as intended, leading to adverse consequences, including death. They not only harm patients but also the reputation of medicines and healthcare providers.

You might be shocked to know that one out of ten medical products in developing countries is substandard or fake. That said, there is a pressing need to fight against counterfeit drugs. Looking at the current situation, where the whole world is suffering, the problem has become highly critical. It is now even more important for the pharma industry to adopt quick measures to solve the problem.

The problem of counterfeit drugs

Counterfeit drugs are amongst the most lucrative sectors of the worldwide trade of fake goods. Drug manufacturers have struggled to find an effective way to combat counterfeit drugs. They lose billions of dollars every year in sales and spend large sums of money on anti-counterfeit measures. This is majorly due to huge gaps in pharmaceutical supply chains.

· Fragmented and opaque supply chain infrastructure.

· Multiple intermediaries, making it difficult to trace the origin.

· Different companies adopting different systems, leading to multiple solutions.

“The current point-to-point systems infrastructure lacks the ability to keep data in-sync across the healthcare supply chain, which ultimately increases the risk of counterfeit, diverted, or otherwise illegitimate products,” said David Vershure, Vice President at Genentech.

Drug traceability with blockchain

Blockchain can help to prevent counterfeit drugs by significantly enhancing the security and transparency of supply chains. It can be used to easily trace the flow of medical goods from sellers to customers.

“Pharma is one of the sectors that are most advanced in the US when it comes to integrating IoT networks with blockchain,” says Avivah Litan, Vice President, and Distinguished Analyst at Gartner Research.

In a nutshell, blockchain is a shared ledger that creates a tamper-proof and transparent record of transactions on blocks. All members maintain a copy of the ledger, which updates in almost real-time. Every block within the blockchain will have a hash linked to another block, and a timestamp that cannot be changed. That makes the information stored on blocks about the drug immutable. It also highlights if anyone tries to alter the stored data.

That means, circulating a fake drug becomes next to impossible with blockchain. Any movement of medicines from one party to another can be visible to all authorized members and traceable in real-time. On the other hand, consumers can verify the authenticity of purchased medicines by scanning a QR code or a bar code. Also, they can quickly look up information about the manufacturer and other relevant details.

Beyond fighting the problem of counterfeit drugs, blockchain can bring substantial benefits to healthcare by offering better speed, transparency, and security. Here is our ebook ‘Redefining Healthcare with Blockchain’ to discuss several use cases of blockchain in healthcare. Our ebook also mentions many health-tech startups and companies using blockchain to solve the challenges of the healthcare industry.

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Pharma companies using blockchain

Enterprises around the world are exploring blockchain to build secure and transparent solutions to prevent counterfeit drugs.

Recently, several companies, including Sanofi, Roche, McKesson, and Walmart, teamed up to introduce MediLedger project: a blockchain-based solution to prevent counterfeit drugs. The MediLedger group has submitted its final report to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a pilot project that will be used by these companies.

Zuellig Pharma, a pharma giant in the Asia-Pacific region, aims to use blockchain to collect data across supply chains in a secure manner. The company has developed eZTracker smartphone app to verify the authenticity of a drug by scanning a barcode.

Another company, Real Items has partnered with Tricol Trading Company (one of the largest microfiber manufacturers in Asia) to trace the supply chain and ensure authenticity for their KN95 masks exported from China to the US. They are going to maintain an immutable and transparent record on VeChain blockchain.

Conclusion

As the illegal trade of counterfeit drugs trade continues to rise, various technology-based solutions will continue to develop. Although blockchain is at its nascent stage, it can play a pivotal role to flatten the curve. If adopted, blockchain can vastly limit the impact of fake medicines in the global market by revolutionizing supply chains.