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The pharmaceutical industry is now concerned about the counterfeit of QR codes and sees the need to implement continuous data protection and secure graphics. This follows after a slew of counterfeit pharmaceutical products bearing fake QR codes. Even falsified medicines were found to carry QR codes that closely mimic legitimate ones.
Now the pharma industry is ramping up efforts to explore secure graphic technologies and continuous data protection solutions to safeguard product labelling and prevent tampering. The manufacturers are looking to adopt advanced anti-counterfeit measures like encrypted and dynamic QR codes linked to cloud-based verification systems, tamper-evident packaging with holographic or copy-detection patterns, and real-time serialization and blockchain-based traceability.
With counterfeiters seen to be advanced and intelligent, the pharma sector is shifting from simple labelling to integrated security ecosystems ensuring that every scan leads to verified, traceable information.
While the regulation is in place, public awareness about the QR code system and its usage for verification remains a challenge, said Dr. Sunil S Chiplunkar, vice president, business development, Group Pharmaceuticals.
QR code is mainly an engagement strategy with customers for delivering information and links, it is bridge between physical and digital world. Fake products are an international scourge and in pharmaceuticals it can be life and death issue. So, a multipronged approach to curb counterfeit medicines is required. QR code is considered better than barcode as it accommodates more information. However, QR code can also be duplicated particularly static QR code. Eventually, the better way to beat the counterfeiting of products is blockchain but that is costly. QR code is not fool proof when it comes to combating counterfeiting and is a cost burden for small scale manufacturers, said Dr Chiplunkar.
B Thirunavukkarasu, president, the Bangalore District Chemists and Druggists Association (BDCDA) urges the government to implement a centralized, blockchain-based secure QR system to protect public health and uphold pharmaceutical integrity.
QR codes on medicine packages are crucial for ensuring authenticity, tracking batch details, and empowering consumers with verification tools. However, India's current system faces major challenges including static codes, absence of replicable batch numbers on primary packaging and lack of real-time authentication. These vulnerabilities have allowed counterfeiters to exploit the very system meant to stop them, added Thirunavukkarasu.
Prof R Raveendra, professor and head, department of pharmaceutics, MIT Pharmacy College, Mysuru, said the awareness initiative is prime to ensure the patient safety and to reduce the risks associated with fake drugs or substandard medications. Therefore the QR code on medicine packages is important for several reasons. One is that it benefits the patients with authenticity verification. Second, QR codes can provide patients with important information about their medication, such as dosage instructions, side effects, and storage conditions. Third is that QR codes allow patients track the origin and movement of their medication, ensuring they receive genuine products.
From a healthcare professional perspective, there is medication management, quick access to patient information, such as medical history and current medications and supply chain management.
For manufacturers and regulatory bodies, there is counterfeit prevention, supply chain visibility and compliance with regulations on medicine packaging and tracking, said Prof. Raveendra.
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