Phone App Can Help Fight Counterfeit Drugs

Nowadays it seems like everything can be done on cell phones; from taking pictures to checking the score of the ballgame, everything is seemingly in the palm of one’s hand. Now a company is introducing an application (or “app”) for smart phones that will theoretically allow drug manufactures to more closely monitor the pharmaceutical supply chain and thus limit the amount of counterfeit drugs in circulation.

The app is designed to track pedigrees, which are electronic records that track prescription drugs, as they move from the manufacturer to the wholesaler and eventually to the pharmacy, according to eWEEK.com. In 2008, California passed a law requiring drug manufacturers to provide pedigrees for all pharmaceuticals produced or sold in the state.

Anti-counterfeiting technologies such as this app can help battle the rising problem of counterfeit drugs.

Cell phones have been the focus of a number of efforts to produce anti-counterfeiting technology. One of the methods that is in use involves consumers scratching an area on drug packaging to reveal a number. They then text the number to the local authorities who in turn verify it with the drug maker and relay the information back to the consumer.