New medicine coding system to address the risk of counterfeit medicines
EFPIA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations recently unveiled its pilot project to verify medicines and so help reduce the risk of counterfeit medicines being dispensed to patients. The verification system is being piloted in conjunction with project partners Apoteket AB, the Swedish pharmaceutical retailer and local wholesalers Tamro & Oriola-KD.
Using a small data matrix - similar to a barcode - to individually number each pack of medicine, the system can provide the pharmacist with verification as to whether that a pack has been previously dispensed.
The system is being trialed in 25 retail pharmacies in and around Stockholm and will verify more than 100,000 products. The data matrix can contain enough data to individually code each pack of medicine with information including the product code, batch number, the expiry date and a unique, randomised serial number which identifies packs individually.
The trial is expected to run until late November. The system is part of EFPIA's response to the European Commission's proposal for a mass serialisation of medicinal products as part of measures to better protect EU citizens from the serious threats posed by counterfeit medicines.
>> EFPIA