Drug counterfeiting and decentralized whistleblowers

Hossein Omidian; Yadollah Omidi

doi:10.1016/j.drudis.2022.08.003

Drug counterfeiting and decentralized whistleblowers

Drug Discov Today. 2022 Nov;27(11):103335. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.08.003. Epub 2022 Aug 19.

Authors

Hossein Omidian¹, Yadollah Omidi²

Affiliations

¹ College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA. Electronic address: omidian@nova.edu.
² College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.

PMID: 35995359
DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.08.003

Abstract

To tackle the devastating issue of drug counterfeiting, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has initiated a pilot project in which 24 companies in the pharmaceutical supply chain use blockchain technology to track and trace drug deliveries among manufacturers, distributors, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. Although embracing new and powerful technologies is a meaningful step toward eliminating the shadow of deadly drug counterfeiting, powerful governments, and pharmaceutical giants can also take other steps to fight against drug counterfeiting. These may include helping to establish the blockchain infrastructure in low-income and underdeveloped countries, providing free or affordable original drug products to low-income countries, and allowing local drug manufacturers across the globe to manufacture affordable comparable products.

Keywords: Blockchain; Decentralized whistleblowers; Drug counterfeiting; Smart contracts; Substandard drug products.