An advert by Pfizer, supported by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) and other  pharmaceutical and patient organizations dramatically shows the dangers of buying counterfeit drugs online:

The advert, showing a man coughing up a dead rat, will be shown across 600 cinemas in the UK and online.

David Gillen, Medical Director at Pfizer said, “The time has definitely come to issue a clear, unified message to people about the dangers of purchasing medicines from illicit and unregulated sources.”

“This advertising campaign forms part of a wider public education campaign launched by Pfizer last year to ensure the public is aware of the health risks they are taking by buying and consuming counterfeit medicines, potentially without even a proper diagnosis from a qualified healthcare professional,” he added.

Anti-counterfeiting is a hot issue and many labeling and packaging managers are facing a big challenge in this area. The question is what is the best approach to tackling this issue? Item level serialisation and 2D or Data Matrix bar coding have been favored by many.

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has been calling for the implementation of a standardized identification solution for pharmaceutical products across Europe. This solution is a unique bar code (Data Matrix) supported by a pan-European verification system enabling pharmacists to check each medicine pack before dispensing it to the patient.”