Health
Radio frequency to help detect counterfeit drugs
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 13, 2004
Electronic tags are now being affixed to the packaging of some drugs to aid in tracking the medications as they move through the supply chain, the Food and Drug Administration announced on Nov. 15.
The hope is that radio frequency identification technology will help in detection of counterfeit drugs which can be substituted for the real thing as the products travel from manufacturer to several intermediary distributors and then to pharmacies.
Incidents involving counterfeit drugs have jumped from about five per year through the late 1990s to more than 20 per year since 2000. The increase has prompted the FDA to launch an initiative to combat the threat, and the electronic tracking system is one part of this initiative.
Many of the counterfeits have been "finished" medications, including best-selling drugs such as Lipitor and Viagra, which were sometimes in patients' medicine cabinets before being discovered. Previously, bulk drug ingredients were the primary targets of counterfeiters.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/12/13/hlbf1213.htm.
