ISLAMABAD: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) has directed pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers to update it on the implementation status of the newly-introduced barcode system so that a report would be submitted to the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar has already taken notice of the health issues and has been pushing Drap, hospitals, ministries and other health institutions to address them.

An official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) told Dawn that in April 2017 the federal cabinet had approved the introduction of the new barcode system.

“After the introduction of the system, buyers having smartphones can verify the veracity of a medicine and its price. The system also makes it possible for a company to track the movement of a drug and recall it in case of any complaint,” he said.

As per the project, pharmaceutical companies have to print the barcode on packets of medicines. It is similar to the barcode printed on any product being sold by departmental stores.

Drap asks manufacturers and importers to submit details for submission of a report to SC

However, the code for packets of medicines is of two dimensional (2D) as compared to the single dimensional code printed on goods in departmental stores, he said.

Through the barcode, buyers will get information about a medicine such as its maker, batch number, expiry date and price.

The software will not identify the barcode of a spurious medicine so it will become possible for both the owners of medical stores and the citizens to ensure the purchase of a genuine drug, he explained.

Moreover, sometimes because of complaints such as mixing of unwanted chemical or fungus in a drug it will become easy for the companies to track the movement of the medicine and recall it, he said.

Government hospitals which purchase bulks of drugs would also be able to keep a check on the expiry and availability of medicines with the help of the barcode.

Drap in a statement said companies and importers had been asked to provide the implementation status of the barcode system as the apex court in a human rights case on February 28 had directed the firms to implement and enforce the barcode on their products within three months.

Drap’s CEO Sheikh Akhtar Hussain said the authority had already developed the Drug Regulatory Information System (DRIS) and placed it on its website for manufacturers and importers.

He said 128 manufacturers and importers had applied for DRIS and data of 15 companies had been verified and the remaining firms were being verified.

“More than 700 letters have been issued to licensed manufacturers of drugs to implement the 2D data matrix barcode on packaging of drugs within the stipulated time,” he said.

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association has sought more time for the implementation of the barcode system.

However, multinationals such as GSK, Aventis, Novonordisk, Novartis and Cheise have already implemented the barcode on secondary packaging of drugs while Abbott has partially implemented it.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2018