The global pharmaceutical supply chain is at a growing risk from counterfeit drugs, costing companies billions and putting the health of patients in danger. Secure packaging is an important factor in combating fake products. This has resulted in the enforcement of stringent legislation to make sure that pharmaceutical packaging cannot be easily imitated. Through the use of new anti-counterfeiting technology, pharmaceutical packaging manufacturers can easily produce secure packaging and comply with government policies.
Dealing with counterfeiters demands a multi-level approach, an element of which is secure packaging. However, in order to ensure optimal security of pharmaceutical packaging, both overt and covert technologies need to be used. Latest technological advancements have seen the introduction of a multi-level range of solutions with which to ensure the security of pharmaceutical packaging in order to safeguard the supply chain and authenticate products
within the global pharmaceutical market. The solutions incorporate sophisticated covert technology for use by customs agencies, authorized distributors and other parties with access to high-tech readers or secure databases. They also feature advanced overt identification capabilities for users.
The new technologies offer the flexibility to be adjusted to the specific security issues and needs of each company. On that basis, they can incorporate a blend of features, from overt counterfeiting deterrents such as holograms and security seals, to invisible markers that can be placed anywhere on the package. These countermeasures can be fully integrated into wider solutions, such as electronic readers and secure database systems used by manufacturers, distributors or government agencies. The result is a suite of solutions that is effective at all stages of the supply chain, virtually anywhere in the world.
The Uflex team of the gravure cylinder and flexo plate division has developed a special feature of hidden text to stop counterfeit drugs from entering the consumer market. The security (antipiracy) feature of the hidden text is a combination of two technologies – special screening software and specialized engraving technique. The Uflex R&D team has developed this feature inhouse. The supply chain team and marketing team who regularly used to do market surveys will play a very crucial role in stopping counterfeit drugs from entering into the consumer market. They will have to identify duplicate products from the market using technology and track down the supply chain for duplicate products in the system and the source of piracy of drugs.
