Is India thinking again about QR barcoding for drugs?

The authorities in India seem to be taking a moment to reflect on the much-criticised QR coding programme for medicines distributed in the domestic market, rather than pressing ahead with plans to roll it out more widely.

In a post on LinkedIn, Dr Chandrashekar Ranga, joint drugs controller at India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), drew attention to a notification from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) that is "inviting public comments on mandatory printing of QR code for drugs falling under the categories of vaccines, antimicrobials, NDPS [narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances]…and anticancer drugs."

Previously, it was thought that extending the platform from its current use in the top 300-selling medicines in India was a foregone conclusion, but the comment period will provide an opportunity for those concerned about the QR coding system to register their objections to wider rollout and propose potential alternatives, such as security labels or barcodes with additional layers of protection.

The notice, published on October 16, indicates that a comment period on expanding the programme has now been opened.

SecuringIndustry.com ran a series of articles on the QR coding programme last year that highlighted concerns with the system in the wake of incidents in which counterfeit medicines were found to be carrying falsified copies of the very QR codes designed to protect patients from exposure to fakes.

An earlier effort to protect medicines exported from India from falsification, which required barcoding at different packaging levels, was withdrawn earlier this year – nearly 14 years after its introduction – after major operational challenges.