Bar-coding for medicines would be mandatory says DCGI

PATIALA:  The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has proposed to make it mandatory for medicines intended for domestic supply to also bear barcodes.  

This was disclosed by Dr. Surinder Singh, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India while addressing a press conference at Swift School of Pharmacy, a pharmaceutical institute of Ind Swift Group at Ghaggar Saria in this district on Saturday.

He said that, Commerce ministry unveiled an ambitious scheme to add serial numbers to all exported medicines - via the printing of  S1-compliant 2D barcodes on primary packaging and 1D or 2D codes on secondary packaging in this year.

DCGI added that we have more sweeping proposal for the addition of serial numbers to the unit-pack level on all medicines destined for use in the

domestic market. 

The unique identifier (UID) number will also be printed on the pack in a user-readable format so that it can be sent via text message to a centralised phone number for authentication, he added

He said that pharmaceutical industry has reservations about the cost effectiveness. The president of Indian drug manufactures’ association – NR Munjal who was also present at the press conference said that total cost of the printing of 2D barcodes will add another burden on the industry and cost of drug will escalate by about 40 percent which will certainly  has burden on consumer. 

Earlier Dr. Surinder Singh laid the foundation stone of   Post Graduate & Research Wing of Swift School of Pharmacy, a pharmaceutical institute of Ind Swift Group. The President of Swift School of Pharmacy, Dr Gopal Munjal also present on the occasion. 

The institute is situated on GT road and on about 10 kilometers from Rajpura in Patiala district towards Ambala  Dr. G.N. Singh, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, laid the foundation stone of Animal House. 

Professor, Dr. V. J. Dhar, Director of Swift School of Pharmacy, referring to the WHO’s concern on Antibiotic resistance, stressed upon the importance of quality in pharma education, which will also result in overcoming practices like supply of spurious drugs, wrong drug combinations and irrational therapies.