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  • Essay / Counterfeit medicines in the pharmaceutical industry

    Counterfeit medicines are a major problem in the pharmaceutical industry. Here are some figures revealed by the Health Research Funding Organization: Internet sales of counterfeit drugs represent $75 billion of the total market; In 2014, approximately 60 different Pfizer drugs and products were counterfeited worldwide; The WHO estimates that 16% of counterfeit medicines contain the wrong ingredients, while 17% contain incorrect levels of required ingredients. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The main problem with fake drugs is not that they are fake, but rather that they can be very different from the original product in a quantitative and qualitative manner. In fact, many of them do not contain the active ingredients they claim. This can be dangerous for patients who take the counterfeit medicine because it will not treat the condition. Additionally, if the ingredients and dosages are different, the product may trigger unexpected side effects that may lead to unpredictable conditions. As Anca PETRE, healthcare market analyst at Humaniq, forcefully points out, the main advantage of blockchain technology for drug traceability is security. Each new transaction added to a block is immutable and timestamped, making it easier to track a product and ensuring that information cannot be changed. A blockchain can be public or private. To guarantee the origin and traceability of medicines, companies that register a product on the blockchain must be trustworthy. Therefore, only private blockchains controlled by a central entity make sense to ensure that fake medicines are not recorded. A company's access to the “medicine blockchain” would therefore be proof that the medicines it produces are authentic. Anca PETRE says: “Pharmaceutical companies decide which actors in the supply chain act as minors. These may be manufacturers, distributors or retailers. Depending on their position in the supply chain, each person may have different rights: laboratories can register medicines while wholesalers can only verify transactions. “When a medicine is produced, a block is created which contains all the relevant information about the product. Each time the drug passes from one entity to another, the information is stored on the blockchain, making it easier to track the drug. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Personalized TrialOne of the main problems today is the lack of harmony between drug traceability systems and often supply chain actors have limited insight into the origin and of the destination of the products they receive. Additionally, if a problem is detected and a batch needs to be withdrawn from the market, blockchain technologies make it easier for the company to find its products and thus avoid any complications. Blockchain technologies help solve two main problems in medicines. traceability: firstly, it allows companies to track their products throughout the supply chain, thus creating an airtight circuit, impervious to counterfeit products. Secondly, it also allows stakeholders, and in particular laboratories, to act retrospectively in the event of a problem by identifying the..