Need of Drug — Anti-Counterfeiting Packaging Technologies
Drug counterfeiting is on the rise worldwide, putting the health of millions of patients at risk who trust that the prescription medicines they buy are safe and effective.
For a long time, the pharmaceutical sector has been plagued by the threat of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals can harm patients’ health and steal money from consumers and drug firms. In this age of rising consumerism, failing to handle this issue can damage a company’s brand image and goodwill.
Counterfeit medications are inherently harmful since they are not manufactured under safe conditions and are not inspected by regulatory authorities. As a result, consumers have no way of knowing what components these products contain.
Drugs Counterfeiting — A Global Issues
Even though the United States’ pharmaceutical distribution system is among the safest globally, counterfeiting continues to rise. The surge of pharmaceutical counterfeiting has been attributed to several issues.
Under-regulated wholesalers and repackagers are increasingly involved in the drug supply chain. The proliferation of Internet pharmacies technological advancements make it easier for criminals to create counterfeit drugs and increase the importation of medicines from Canada and other countries. Counterfeiting, patent infringement, and cheating are the leading causes of the problem in the industrialized world. The regulatory system works better in the United States and other high-income countries than in low-income countries. On the other hand, in the industrialized world, many medications are being purchased over the internet [making it difficult to tell where they’re coming from].
What are the risks of using counterfeit medicine?
Patients may not receive the therapeutic benefit expected from counterfeit drugs, one of the most severe dangers. A medicine for diminishing a cancerous tumour, for example, may not benefit the patient because it contains no active ingredient or too little of it. Conversely, the product may have too many active ingredients or other potentially dangerous contaminants, which could also be harmful.
Anti-counterfeiting Packaging Technologies
Millions of new online customers and merchants have boosted demand for internet goods, but they’ve also spawned a new crop of counterfeiters. E-commerce operators, manufacturers, and end-users are all vulnerable to counterfeiting. Fake cosmetics degrade skin texture, and counterfeit items have the same effect on real businesses and investors. As a result, several policies to combat the selling of counterfeit goods have been implemented.
Additionally, technology such as digital authentication, product tracking, holography, and serialization. Aid in preventing counterfeits and other types of tampering. E-commerce manufacturers and businesses require Anti-counterfeiting techniques to decrease counterfeiting and avoid losses. It is predicted to fuel the industry’s growth and drug anti counterfeiting packaging market trends during the forecast period.
Anti-counterfeiting Technology’s Ideal Characteristics
Anti-counterfeiting technology should have a high level of security (non-clonable), faster product application and authentication,
- proven standards,
- be challenging to remove and reapply,
- be easy to inspect,
- have automatic authentication,
- be usable by consumers,
- and be legally compliant by industries.
On a product-by-product basis, however, the FDA encourages the use of various, regularly changing authentication procedures.
Anti-counterfeiting Technologies: An Overview
Today, there are a variety of anti-counterfeiting solutions available, each with its own set of benefits and cons. These can primarily be utilised in three main ways:
Packing that is tamper-evident or tamper-resistant
If the barrier to entry is breached or missing, the packaging should convey visible or auditory indication to consumers that tampering has happened. Examples are film wrappers, shrinkable seals and bands, breakable caps, tape seals, blister packs, and similar items.
Validation of the product
Authentication characteristics might be incorporated on the dose or the pharmaceutical container. These are overt, covert, and forensic characteristics.
Anti-counterfeiting holograms
Holograms can combine three layers of protection to create a highly effective anti-counterfeiting weapon. Holograms can provide overt first line authentication in such solutions. At the same time, covert features like jumbled pictures, micro text, UV-sensitive or other specialist inks can give second-line authentication for skilled examiners and proper decoding equipment.
Another development that combines authentication and traceability is holographic serialization. Some of the developed technologies are binary encrypted holograms, light diffraction hologram elements in a product label, or a combination of a holographic, 2D DataMatrix, and heat monitoring.
Technology for tracking and tracing
The track and trace system assigns a unique identification to each stock unit during manufacture, which then stays with it along the supply chain until it is used. Information is attached in a special pack coding that allows users to access the same data in a secure database.
Serialization on a large scale
The methods of producing, encoding, and validating the unique identity of specific physical entities are all part of serialization. Without broad serialization, the pedigree’s authenticity and validity are limited to the lot number, thousands of bottles. A unique bottle of medicine, on the other hand, cannot be authenticated. When paired with track and trace technology, serialization makes tracking a product along the supply chain easier and enables targeted recall identification. Global Standards One (GS1) is a non-profit organization developing worldwide product and service identification standards.
Conclusion
Counterfeit drugs have the potential to harm a patient’s health. Adverse side effects, treatment failure, resistance, toxicity, and even death can all come from the use of poor medications. Pharmaceutical businesses, healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and patients must all be informed about counterfeit pharmaceuticals and the regulations to combat them. The growing issue of counterfeit drugs may begin to fade with increased knowledge and worldwide health promotion.
