Zydus introduces scratch code in critical drug packs to fight counterfeit

Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Friday said it has introduced a new feature in the packaging of its critical drugs to help patients ensure that the product is not fake or counterfeited.

To start with, technology is being implemented in the company's products Remdac (Remdesivir) and Virafin Inj (Pegylated Interpheron Alpha 2b) and will be seen on the product packs in the third week of June, the drug firm said in a statement.

The feature will also be extended to other products of the company, it added.

The company said it has incorporated a new IT-enabled scratch code which shall be printed under a scratchable surface.

The patients can check to see if the product purchased by them is genuine or not by scratching the surface and verifying the code through the app or the website, it added.

"The problem of counterfeit drugs undermines the painstaking efforts that are put in to ensure that the end user or patients receive a product that is safe and manufactured with the highest standards of quality excellence.

"Counterfeit drugs can be harmful as they may not have the desired outcome and could also be life threatening in some cases," Cadila Healthcare Managing Director Sharvil Patel noted.

To curb this menace, the company has looked at a user-friendly solution which can reassure the patient that the product is genuine and safe, he added.

Cadila Healthcare is the listed entity of Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila group which employs nearly 25,000 people worldwide, including 1,400 scientists in R&D.