Indian Authentication industry takes the pledge for ZERO Counterfeiting with a 5-year strategic plan
07 July 2023: Dr. Urvashi Prasad, Senior Director, NITI AAYOG graced the occasion as Guest of Honor and Susanta Singh, JS, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers (GoI) was Chief Guest. Speakers from Government of NCT, GS1, Indian Chemical Council, Ashok Leyland, Deloitte, Goldiee Group, Marico Ltd., DS Group, among others shared their insights on Day 1 of the day.
Address of Dr. Urvashi Prasad, Senior Director, NITI AAYOG as the Guest of Honor at Traceability and Authentication Forum (TAF) .. Counterfeiting affects all industries but counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical sector has become a major issue as it does severe damage. India exports more than Trillions of Rupees worth pharmaceutical products. There is a huge reputation and brand value at stake as we are the Pharmacy to the World and counterfeiting threatens that reputation.
We are just coming out of the COVID-19 Pandemic which disrupted the global supply chain and led to the increase of substandard drugs that were available across the world. With the advent of online marketplaces which facilitates ease for consumers but has made it harder to track & identify substandard and counterfeit products. So both are reasons for the surge of counterfeits in the pharma sector.
Why counterfeits and substandard really matter in pharma is because it leads to increased modality. There are actually new resistance streams bacteria and drug resistance is becoming rampant. counterfeit products contribute to that. They contribute to the failure of treatment. WHO estimates that 1 million deaths globally which could be in some way related to counterfeit drugs. It comes down to 20 Billion Dollars financial implication.
There are many reasons to control the damage – economic reasons, financial reasons, health, and social reasons. Clearly this needs a multi-stakeholder response. It’s not just government or industry, it needs all stakeholders to play their role.
What the government can do and is doing is patient awareness, empowering the patients to make the right choice. We are also looking at how we can use technology in innovating. NITI Aayog is doing a lot of pilot programs on use of AI and use of Blockchain in the health sector. In the pharma supply chain at every level when a drug passes hands Blockchain can be brought in. You can have a unique QR Code which needs to be scanned for products to pass.
The government has the role in piloting such technology and help in scaling up. Doctors can play an important role by educating their patients. Industry while marketing should make awareness inbuilt to that.
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