DoP asks pharma companies to go for QR code instead of SMS code for track and trace of medicines

Mumbai, February 18, 2023 :

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has directed the pharmaceutical companies to go for quick response (QR) code instead of using an SMS code for tracking and tracing of medicines. This will ensure quality and efficacious medicines reach the consumer and the patient in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The industry says that the SMS code will ensure each strip has a unique code number and a common SMS number. According to the industry, the number can be SMS-ed for instant authentication via SMS which are enabled even on feature phones. This will ensure covering all Indians than only the smart phone Indian users.

The DoP secretary N Yuvaraj, however, has stated that in India, 50% Indians use smart phones which can enable QR code and bar code but the other 50% use feature phones that have no cameras or internet. “If you are setting up the infrastructure then go for QR code as it will be better in the long term. The Government of India (GoI) intends to bring in the Central Repository in the near future. The smart phones are over 70 crore and it is now more than feature phones and the growth is very fast, so SMS codes may only help in the short term,” he added.

The Central government has notified mandating QR code on the label of top 300 brands of formulations from August 1, 2023 which will help identify fake and spurious drugs.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare on November 17, 2022 came out with gazette notification no 823E implementing the Drugs (Eighth Amendment) Rules, 2022, which introduced a new Schedule H2 with a list of 300 top brands, and inserted Sub-Rule (6) and (7) after the Sub-Rule (5) in the Rule 96, of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. This makes it mandatory for pharmaceutical companies to affix QR code on the pack of top 300 formulations from August 1, 2023.

As per the new gazette notification, QR code will contain the unique product identification code, generic name of the drug, brand name, name and address of the manufacturer, batch number, date of manufacture, expiry date and manufacturing license number. PharmaBiz