Federal cabinet clears digital tracking system for medicines

ISLAMABAD: Taking an important step toward bolstering public health protection and safeguarding people against counterfeit medicines, the cabinet has unanimously approved the implementation of the Track & Trace System for medicines throughout Pakistan, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal stated on Tuesday.

The government has also approved amendments to the Drug Labelling and Packing Rules, 1978, in order to facilitate the launching of the advanced digital Track and Trace System.

"The decision is indeed a landmark one towards eliminating counterfeit and fake medicines from the country," added Kamal. "With this system, for the first time, we would be able to track and verify every medicine in Pakistan."

According to the new regulations, all pharmaceutical companies manufacturing and importing medicines in Pakistan will have to affix standardised 2D barcodes and serial numbers in medicine packaging.

Through this Track & Trace System, it would be easier to keep an eye on the circulation of all medicines in the market in order to weed out any counterfeit product.

Once the system comes into effect, people will be able to verify details like expiry date, price and authenticity of medicines by scanning their barcodes.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) will oversee the nationwide rollout of the Track & Trace System and issue detailed technical guidelines to facilitate compliance across the pharmaceutical industry.

Consultative meetings with relevant stakeholders have already been held to ensure a smooth transition to the new framework.

Kamal said the initiative would significantly strengthen the security and quality of Pakistan's pharmaceutical supply chain by replacing conventional monitoring mechanisms with a modern digital framework.