Tech Company Introduces Anti-Counterfeiting Technology

An English technology company is working on a new, low-cost anti-counterfeiting technology to help combat the problem of fake medications.

The company producing this new anti-counterfeiting technology will place a code on drug packaging that it hopes will be almost impossible to duplicate, according to Cambridge Business News.

The new technology will place a two-dimensional dot matrix identifier on each packaging. This is different than the “stamped” lot code that is often used to identify drug packaging.

The company hopes that its dot matrix will allow authorities to identify crucial information about the medication, including the raw materials that were used during production, when the drug was manufactured and what production line it was made on. Such detailed information may help officials in their efforts to combat counterfeit drugs.

In addition, the company is considering putting the database of information online so that the information is public and anyone could conceivably determine whether a drug was fake.

Many anti-counterfeiting technologies focus on drug packaging, however one method that has gained widespread use in Africa utilizes cell phones. Drug takers text a number on the package to a central authority who verifies its authenticity.