Liberia turns to Kulinda for medicine traceability system

Liberia has reached an agreement with Kulinda to deploy safety label technology for medicines in order to fight counterfeiting, smuggling, diversion, and trademark infringement.

The Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) and Kulinda Liberia have signed a memorandum of understanding for the creation of what will be known as the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Protection Programme (LMHPPP).

The Kulinda programme is the brainchild of Dr Avi Chaudhuri, former chief scientist at Systech International and an acclaimed expert on anti-counterfeiting, and is also being implemented in Zanzibar.

The system relies on the use of digital verification tools that allow tracking and tracing of all medicines imported into the African nation. It is based on the application of security labels that include non-cloneable datamatrix codes with built-in overt and covert verification features to every saleable unit of medicine.

Kulina Liberia will provide the necessary technological infrastructure, while LMHRA will oversee compliance, data integrity, and public awareness.

According to Dr Chaudhuri, the programme will require mandatory participation by all importers starting in July when it will be officially launched. Within nine months of that, all drug products sold in Liberia through all outlets must be fully compliant with the system.

It offers "both an authentication and a traceability arm and aims to fully arrest counterfeit, substandard, expired and pilfered or diverted drugs," he told SecuringIndustry.com.

"The programme is based on a 'whole of society' participation model that includes regulatory officers, customs agents, supply chain handlers and – most importantly – consumers, who will be able to instantly verify a drug's authenticity at the point of sale."

In Zanzibar, implementation of the system has already resulted in the discovery and elimination of counterfeit versions of drugs for cancer, thyroid disorders, psychiatric illness and antibiotics, according to an update last year from the Zanzibar Food and Drug Agency (ZFDA).

According to the LMHRA, the implementation ties in with Liberia's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), targeting a baseline of 40 per cent improvement in medicine safety through advanced automation and technology deployment.