The Indian pharmaceutical industry is facing major challenges in the area of traceability and security of its supply chain. The entire process of sourcing high-quality raw materials to sustaining the cold chain integrity of drug manufacturing to safety announcements and drug recalls – every stage is a cause of concern in the Indian context.

According to a March 2019 report, counterfeit drugs are responsible for the death of over 2,50,000 children per year. And while these numbers are jarring, they only illustrate the deaths related to counterfeiting in malaria and pneumonia drugs alone! At this rate, the real figures for all counterfeit drugs and vaccines and their corresponding effects may run in millions!

As the current worldwide coronavirus pandemic continues to spread at an alarming rate in India and around the world, it’s clear that the only solution is a tried and tested COVID-19 vaccine.However, when it comes to the distribution of the vaccine, there are significant hurdles to be faced. One such challenge is the factor of vaccine wastage and how it can be effectively mitigated during the distribution process.

According to the World Bank, the population of India currently stands at 1.2 billion people. That stands as a significant challenge to distribute and effectively vaccinate the entire population while taking into account supply chain challenges along the way.

Many times, patients unknowingly purchase counterfeit drugs prescribed by the doctor as treatment for a disease or illness. Not knowing the significance of the active ingredient present in the pharmaceutical drugs blindside these patients. As a result, several of the counterfeit drugs end up harming the health of the patient, making this market extremely risky for everyone.

Counterfeit drugs are killing over million people every year. As per WHO, depending upon the country, 25-40% medicines in the market are counterfeit. Every year the industry loses more than $200 billion in revenue. With supply chain gaps in terms of full track & traceability and new business models emerging – e.g. online pharmacy, online pharma aggregators – the problem is becoming bigger.