India to Require Barcodes on Pharmaceutical Exports
India’s Commerce Ministry is planning to require all pharmaceutical exports to utilize barcode technology, according to PharmaBiz.com.
The news source reports that the Commerce Secretary met with Pharmexcil, India’s pharmaceutical exports promotion council, and accepted its recommendation to employ the technology.
Pharmexcil proposed three ideas at the meeting: barcoding, digital mass serialization (DMS)/unique number and holograms.
The news source reports that the Commerce Ministry passed on the hologram idea and decided to utilize barcoding and DMS.
The ministry plans to make the use of barcodes for pharmaceutical exports mandatory in the future.
The news provider reports that the pharmaceutical industry has asked for a one-year transition period to implement the change.
The Commerce Secretary is allowing for this period and has asked the pharmaceutical industry to come back and inform the ministry when it is prepared for the change so that a public notice can be issued, according to the news provider.
The DMS system will be implemented at some point in the future, the news source reports.