Packaging Company Proposes Anti-Countefeiting Technology

AA packaging machinery manufacturer has proposed a new anti-counterfeiting technology that may help protect people from counterfeit drugs.

The proposed technology would place a serialized label on the side of the individual blister packs and also put a synchronized marking on the bottom of each drug container, according to Packaging Digest. The marking on the bottom would allow for the drugs identification when a number of packages are bundled together.

The basic idea behind this proposed innovation is to allow a record of the drugs movement through the supply chain to be kept. These track-and-trace programs enable an electronic pedigree to be kept of the drug from its manufacturer all the way to the consumer.

Utilizing drug packaging is one of the most common methods employed in anti-counterfeiting technology. One such method to combat counterfeit drugs places a scratch-off surface on the drug packaging. The drug taker scratches the area revealing a number. Then, they text that number to local authorities who send the number on to the drug manufacturer. The authorities then relay the manufacturer’s response to the consumer.

The World Health Organization estimates that about 30 percent of drugs in developing countries are counterfeit.