Innovations in anti-counterfeit packaging will continue to evolve, offering hope for a safer and more reliable pharmaceutical landscape. By integrating advanced security features and fostering industry collaboration, the risks of counterfeit drugs can be significantly mitigated and public health worldwide can be protected , opine experts
As fake drugs often lack active ingredients, contain harmful substances, or are produced in unsanitary conditions. The consequences can be dire: ineffective treatments, severe adverse reactions, or even fatalities. This reality underscores the need for advanced packaging solutions integrating overt and covert security features to safeguard public health and maintain consumer trust.
Since packaging plays a huge part in tackling counterfeiting crisis faced by the pharma industry, Indian packaging industry has asserted that anti-counterfeit measures are a critical strategy to address fake drug trade.
According to Jeevaraj Gopal Pillai, director, sustainability, president, flexible packaging and new product development, UFlex, counterfeit pharmaceuticals pose a severe threat to public health, brand integrity, and regulatory frameworks. The illicit trade of fake drugs, which has grown in both scale and sophistication, demands robust countermeasures to protect consumers and secure the supply chain. Anti-counterfeit packaging has emerged as a critical strategy to address this challenge, ensuring pharmaceutical products remain authentic, safe, and compliant with regulatory standards.
The global pharmaceutical counterfeiting crisis is staggering. Counterfeit medications infiltrate markets across continents, jeopardizing the health of millions. Anti-counterfeit packaging plays a vital role in drug safety and regulatory compliance. Secure packaging solutions not only help identify authentic products but also ensure pharmaceutical companies meet stringent regulatory requirements. By leveraging advanced technologies, packaging serves as the first line of defence against counterfeiters, offering consumer’s the confidence in the medicines
and maintain the integrity of the healthcare ecosystem, he pointed out.
To address these challenges, we have developed advanced solutions, including integrating overt and covert features in packaging. For instance, holographic films are employed at various levels of sophistication to enhance security. Overt features, visible to the naked eye, enable consumers to verify authenticity effortlessly. These include standard holographic films which is the Level 1. Customized holographic films with brand-specific patterns as Level 2 and advanced holographic films with Fresnel lenses for unique, replication-resistant designs as Level 3. Covert features, on the other hand, remain hidden and require specialized tools for verification, such as micro text, hidden text, and UV ink printing that reveals details under ultraviolet light. Together, these overt and covert features provide a robust, multi-layered solution to ensure product authenticity and combat counterfeiting effectively, added Pillai.
Additional measures like serialization, tamper-evident packaging, and smart authentication further strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain. Serialization enables unique identification of each product unit, while tamper-evident features provide visible signs of interference. Smart authentication methods, such as QR codes or NFC tags, allow consumers and regulators to verify product authenticity instantly, he noted.
Collaboration with regulatory bodies and industry groups is key to combating counterfeit drugs effectively. By aligning innovations with global standards and sharing best practices, scalable and secure packaging solutions can be implemented across markets. We have been actively spreading awareness about these solutions through exhibitions and seminars, driving industry-wide adoption of secure packaging practices. Through continued cooperation, we aim to strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain and ensure product safety and authenticity worldwide.
Robust traceability & authentication solutions critical
As global trade and e-commerce are expected to expand rapidly in 2025, the need for robust traceability and authentication solutions has become critical. Counterfeiting, product diversion, and parallel trade pose serious threats to pharmaceuticals among others resulting in financial losses and eroding consumer trust, stated Manoj Kochar, president of Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA).
To combat these challenges, businesses are turning to innovative technologies such as smart packaging, holograms, blockchain, and digital identity solutions. These advanced tools are transforming supply chain security by ensuring transparency, authenticity, and accountability at every stage of the product lifecycle, he added.
Smart packaging has emerged as a powerful solution, integrating technologies like NFC chips, dynamic QR codes, and environmental sensors. These features enable real-time monitoring of product movement and conditions, ensuring an unbroken chain of custody from manufacturing to end consumers, Kochar said.
Unlike traditional anti-tampering methods, smart packaging now provides comprehensive data on temperature, humidity, and handling, ensuring product integrity throughout the supply chain. This proactive approach not only deters counterfeiting but also enhances operational efficiency and consumer confidence.
In parallel, holograms and security labels continue to be a key authentication tool. Today’s holograms are more sophisticated, offering multi-layered verification by integrating with digital platforms for tracking and authentication. When combined with blockchain technology and smart packaging, holograms provide an additional layer of security, making counterfeiting significantly more challenging, he stated.
Blockchain technology is revolutionizing supply chain security by offering an immutable, decentralized ledger that records every product movement and transaction. This transparency makes it nearly impossible for counterfeit goods to enter legitimate supply chains. When integrated with smart packaging and authentication systems, blockchain creates a secure and traceable product journey, enhancing trust among businesses and consumers alike, noted the ASPA chief.
In fact, the combination of blockchain with real-time tracking data allows instant verification of product authenticity, ensuring supply chain resilience against fraudulent activities. Similarly, digital identity solutions have evolved beyond traditional barcodes, utilizing AI-powered image recognition, DNA barcoding, and biometric tagging.
These technologies create unique digital fingerprints for products, enabling quick and reliable authentication across the supply chain. Digital identity solutions empower consumers with greater visibility into product origins while helping businesses maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.
Strategies to tackle counterfeit drugs menace
Meanwhile according to some of the retired regulatory officers, since the counterfeit medicine trade is becoming a complex challenge to the healthcare system and to the regulatory bodies in India, the state drug control administrations should devise special strategies including inter-state communication to tackle the rising menace, according to retired regulatory officers.
The regulators who handled the department in various states for a long time comment that strict enforcement of drug laws is the only remedy to tackle this menace. According to them, the strength of the drug control department in every state is less than sufficient, and the infrastructure facilities are poor. So, it is too difficult for every state to completely control the flow of spurious or counterfeit drugs in the market.
Mostly, the branded medicines are promoted and marketed by separate people by forming companies under wholesale licences. They mostly manufacture the product in some small companies located in various states. According to regulatory officers, the small companies are operating by and large for the marketers who even use the labels of popular companies to cheat the public.
Dr Narayan Goswami, former drug controller of Tripura is of the opinion that the marketing companies are the main culprits in the proliferation of counterfeit and falsified medicines in the market. To an extent, the counterfeit can be prevented if the address and licence number of the manufacturing companies are also printed on the label. The strips of the medications marketed by the marketing companies comprise only their addresses which are too difficult to be traced out.
He said, the small companies are manufacturing products of big players for the marketing companies and the quality of such products is very low. Legal actions should be initiated against all the manufacturers and marketers for all kinds of violations.
Narendra Kumar Ahooja, Ex DC of Haryana opined that the marketing companies can be controlled by invoking Rule 84 (d) and 84 (e) which put the onus on the marketers to
maintain the quality of the products they market or promote. Similarly, every drug manufacturer should be directed to inform the state licensing authorities about the whereabouts of the companies, and submit Form 51 under the drug act to describe the medicine he manufactures. The investigation on counterfeit drugs should be extended up to the manufacturing level in order to find out who has manufactured it.
He said that if one drug is found to be counterfeit, the authorities should seek the help of the actual manufacturer of that drug to file a case against the counterfeiter. Using QR code or any other protective logos will help stop forgeries. According to him, the printers who print the labels for the marketing companies should also be brought under the purview of regulation.
According to Dr. Pradeep Mattu, former drug controller of Punjab, if a well-devised track and trace system in the regulatory department is in place, it will help track the movement of drugs throughout the supply chain. It will ensure authenticity and prevent counterfeit drugs.
The state regulatory bodies should be activated for interstate communication, so that the state authorities can help mutually in identifying the fake products. Similarly, the department should issue advisories to the manufacturers and to the marketers seeking information about the drugs they manufacture or market, Dr. Mattu added.
Dr. Subhash Mondal, retired deputy drug controller in West Bengal and secretary of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association, said strict enforcement of the drug act is the only solution to cleanse the drug market.
Dr. Revi S Menon, retired drug controller in Kerala said bar coding on all medicine labels can be the best solution for separating the counterfeit from the original one. He said the drug regulatory department in every state needs to be strengthened for strong enforcement. |