In an effort to combat bogus medications, the Union government has made QR (quick response) codes essential on containers of drug manufacturing materials, both domestic and imported.
‘Every active pharmaceutical ingredient (API; bulk drug) manufactured or imported in India shall bear a quick response code on its label at each level, packaging that stores data or information readable with software application to facilitate tracking,’according to guidelines published by the Union health ministry earlier this week.
The data stored in the code should include a unique product ID, API name, brand name, manufacturer name and address, batch number, batch size, date of manufacturing, date of expiry or retesting, serial shipping container code, manufacturing licence or import licence number, and any special storage conditions that are required.
The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is the most important component in the production of a medicine. If it is fraudulent or substandard, the entire quality of the medicine is jeopardised. APIs are largely imported from China to India. The government, on the other hand, is taking steps to ensure that India can make the majority of it on its own.
Following consultation with the regulator’s subject expert panel—the drugs technical advisory board—changes to the drugs rules were enacted under the 1940 Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The project will make it easier to tell the difference between authentic and phoney medications.
The Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Rules, 1945, are also being amended by India’s drug regulating authority.
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