Brands Drive NFC – But Regulators Drive Barcodes

As demonstrated by IFA Celtics’ recent launch of NFC labels on pharma products, the brand-specific deployments of NFC tags for product authentication and traceability are on the rise. Nevertheless, 2D barcodes continue to reign supreme in pharma, excise, and most regulated supply chains – because they are required by law.

The problem with unsecured 2D barcodes, though, is that they can be easily cloned, as witnessed over the past few years by authorities in India. In fact, the increasingly widespread copying of genuine QR codes onto counterfeit drugs is what led India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade to withdraw its requirement for pharma exports to carry these codes – 14 years after they were first mandated.

QR codes do, however, continue to be used on the top 300 drugs sold on the Indian domestic market, with plans to roll them out to more drugs.

Second thoughts

We have now recently learnt that the authorities in India are taking a moment to reflect on whether the planned rollout of the QR code to other domestic drugs is actually a good idea.