More Than Just a Pretty Color

In an ideal world, an anti-counterfeit solution would provide protection throughout the supply chain, allow for easy product identification by physicians, pharmacists, and patients, be easily implemented without ongoing costs—and improve brand image and marketability while it's at it. Yet most current anti-counterfeiting measures involve packaging technologies such as holograms, inks, bar codes and radio frequency ID (RFID) that, although useful, cannot ensure the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain, because drugs do not remain in their original packaging. Legitimate repackaging regularly occurs in the pharmacy and elsewhere, and authentic packaging—recycled or stolen—can contain adulterated, counterfeited drugs.