Bar Codes on Medicine Packs: Government is preparing to check fake medicines, bar codes will be printed on the packets

To curb the menace of counterfeit drugs, the government is going to make it mandatory for pharmaceutical companies to print bar codes on formulation packages of 300 types of medicines.

The process of making barcode mandatory on drug packages is being finalized so that information like manufacturing license and batch number can be obtained on scanning of drug packets. Let us tell you that after the amendment in the Drugs and

Cosmetics Rules 1945, the rules for printing bar codes on the formulation packages of 300 types of medicines will come into force from May next year. 

An official source told the media that a large part of the 300 medicines on which the barcodes are to be printed, are mostly bought over the counter. In such a situation, printing of bar codes on their packets will help in the prevention of counterfeit medicines. The purpose of this amendment is to stop the supply of counterfeit drugs and ensure improvement in public health services.