Healthcare startup ProCheck, https://www.procheck.pk/ founded by Saim Siddiqui, is tackling a pressing issue in Pakistan. Fake and counterfeit drugs are a huge menace and ProCheck is striving to put an end to it using ‘serialization’. Serialization involves printing unique codes on medicines that can help doctors and patients identify it as genuine. The Punjab Government and DRAP are also acting swiftly on this and have finalized drafts to make serialization mandatory for pharmaceutical products in Pakistan.
ProCheck has booked orders to protect over 50 million units of medicine and is expecting to double this number by this year’s end.
Problem : The global counterfeit drug market has become a public health problem. This problem is especially acute in developing countries like Pakistan. In 2012, 120 cardiac patients lost their lives when they were prescribed counterfeit medicines. According to the WHO, up to 30% of all drugs in the developing world are counterfeit. Manufacturers are at risk of litigation, lose revenue to counterfeiters and risk their brands. Patients suffer, and governments watch as counterfeiters grown into sophisticated criminal mafias.
Solution: Procheck works with pharmaceutical manufacturers to assign a unique code to every medicine pack. By having every medicine with a unique I.D., replicating the packaging becomes ineffective for counterfeiters. Patients simply have to SMS the code to 8776, and within seconds, receive confirmation that their medicine is genuine. Procheck has booked orders to protect over 40 million units of different medicines.
