Unit coding is fundamental in the process of tracking and authenticity of medicines

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The Seminar “System for Tracking and Authenticity of Medicines”, promoted by ETCO - Brazilian Institute of Ethical Competition, on October 22, in São Paulo, was a public success.

About 200 pharmaceutical and related professionals filled one of the auditoriums at Caesar Park & ​​Business Faria Lima, to monitor the dissemination of the results of the pilot project carried out by ETCO, between January and July 2009, with a view to preparing the private sector and provide subsidies to the regulatory agency (ANVISA) to meet the requirements of Law 11.903 / 2009, sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who created the National Medicines Control System.

The project consisted of verifying the printing processes and reading the identification codes on the secondary packaging of approximately 75 thousand medicines, in addition to collecting and transmitting all the information generated by the companies participating in the initiative. The system was tested in seven industries: Aché, Bayer, Eurofarma, Mantecorp, Nycomed, Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis; three distributors: Panarello, Profarma and Santa Cruz; and retail chains: Droga Raia, Drogaria Araújo, Drogasil and Pague Menos, as well as logistics operators: DHL, Bomi and AGV.

According to ETCO's executive president, André Franco Montoro Filho, the pilot project fully met its purpose, identifying important points that should be considered by agents in the pharmaceutical chain and regulatory authorities, in order to ensure greater efficiency in the implementation of the system. "The system can be implemented with the adoption of open and public domain technological solutions, with characteristics and flexibility to be implemented by companies, regardless of their size," said the executive.

Another important point highlighted by Montoro Filho was the major paradigm shift for the entire pharmaceutical chain, with the introduction of the concept of unitary coding, “fundamental to have the appropriate level of tracking for compliance with the Law.”

The Seminar also had the participation of ETCO's executive director, Patrícia Blanco, and representatives of Abrafarma - Sérgio Mena Barreto and Abafarma - Luiz Fernando Buainain. Unable to attend the event due to scheduling problems, author of the Bill that created the National Medicines Control System, federal deputy Vanessa Grazziotin (B-AM PC), was represented through a video in which she congratulated the ETCO's efforts and ratified the System's importance to society as a whole.