Per a recent story appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle
("Drug-tracking system faces another delay"), California is poised to
become the first state in the country to require electronic tracking
for prescription drugs as part of an effort to combat the $40 billion
global counterfeit drug trafficking trade.
Here are some highlights from the article:
Fake prescription drugs, along with diluted or expired medications, are
a growing problem in the U.S. drug distribution system. The number of
counterfeit drug cases investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration increased nearly tenfold from 2000 to 2004.
"It's the diversion of wholesale drugs that (allows) the easy
introduction of counterfeits into the legitimate drug supply," said Jim
Dahl, former assistant director of the FDA's Office of Criminal
Investigations.
A complex drug supply chain involving a maze of wholesalers and
secondary wholesale markets has made it relatively easy for careless or
unscrupulous sellers to introduce bogus drugs of questionable makeup.
Those drugs have been found at pharmacies, retailers and health
providers.
"I think (the law) is a good idea, but I don't think the actual
practicalities were well thought out," said Dr. Bryan Liang, director
of the Center for Patient Safety at the medical school at UC San Diego.
ORBID View:
No matter what happens
regarding the regulations, Brands (Pharmaceutical Manufacturers) need
to continue to fight counterfeiting. The problem is too big and
dangerous a threat to public safety and brand value (The Pharmaceutical
Industry estimates that Internet listings of medicines indicate 50% of
transactions are counterfeits or diversions).
- The best way to fight counterfeiting is to manage your supply chain
-
Managing your supply chain requires the ability to authenticate and track individual items
ORBID has a proven track record in addressing this issue for
pharmaceutical companies. ORBID 2DMI marking solution
provides the most cost effective and secure way to authenticate and
track individual items
To learn more about how ORBID is helping pharmaceutical companies, click here .
To learn about ORBID's Secure Product Protection Suite, click here .
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