First labeled drugs go on sale in retail pharmacies in Russia

Print 29 August 2017
GMP News

The first lot of labeled medicinal products went on sale in some pharmacies, and the first labeled drug sold at retail was Omez.

“The first labeled pack of medicinal product was sold at retail. The activities conducted by the participants in the experiment on labeling the drugs together with Roszdravnadzor, Russian Ministry of Health, and the Federal Tax Service of Russia allowed to close the entire technological chain of drug circulation from manufacturing to retail sales. Now, the manufacturers label each drug package by applying a two-dimensional bar code (DataMatrix) with individual identification number. Then, the information on the transfer of that medicinal product for sales is submitted to the labeling system,” said Olga Chepurina, the Head of the Directorate for Control of Goods Circulation at the Federal Tax Service of Russia.

In the near future, the buyers will be able to check on their own the legality of medications available for sale. All they will need to do is to install a special app on their smartphone or tablet and use it to scan the QR code on the drug package. The system will automatically provide all information on the product, including the name of product and manufacturer, confirmation of its legality, expiration date, and batch.

Also, by the end of the year, similar devices for scanning and checking the drugs will appear in pharmacies.

The labeling system for medicinal products operates on an industrial scale since June 1, 2017. The system embraced 16 organizations and labeled more than 268 thousand units of products with such names as Kaletra, Omez, Nise, Liprimar, Ketorol, and Meloxicam.

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