ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has warned pharmaceutical companies that strict action will be taken against those failing to implement 2D barcode technology on medicine packaging, stressing that the government will not tolerate the sale of counterfeit drugs.
He issued the warning while chairing a meeting in Islamabad to review progress on introducing the barcode system across pharmaceutical products.
Officials informed the meeting that around 80 per cent of pharmaceutical companies had already begun the process of implementing the new technology.
It was decided that companies failing to provide the required product information to the Ministry of Health would be served formal notices.
The minister said legal proceedings would be initiated against firms that did not comply with the requirements within the prescribed timeframe.
He further warned that pharmaceutical manufacturing units could be sealed if companies failed to submit the necessary data.
The meeting was attended by the chief executive officer of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), representatives of relevant institutions and key stakeholders from the pharmaceutical industry.
