Tech firm Honeywell said it would develop a digital authentication technology to battle counterfeit pharmaceutical products in India. According to Honeywell, the solution would comprise a digital code that is embedded in the packaging of pharmaceutical products. The user can verify product authenticity by scanning the digital code using a smartphone.
“Honeywell is deploying its authentication technology for the pharmaceutical industry in response to the growing menace of counterfeit products,” said Hitesh Mehta, General Manager, Advanced Materials, Honeywell India.
“Our sophisticated authentication technologies feature printing and substrates which can be easily identified but are difficult to alter and duplicate. Our technology offers brand protection for manufacturers and assurance of authentic products for end users,” he added. An acute shortage of drugs to treat symptoms of COVID-19 has led to increased circulation of counterfeit medicines in recent times. There were reports of fake antiviral medicines and spurious injectable immunosuppressants in the market, jeopardising the lives of COVID-19 patients, and even leading to fatalities, the company said on the context that led to the move.
“With rising demand for vaccines, there is concern that fake vaccines could find their way into circulation. Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation sounded an alarm over criminal exploitation of unmet global demand for COVID-19 vaccines. Already, counterfeit vaccines have been detected in countries such as Mexico and Poland,’’ the tech firm further said.
