Increasing instances of substandard, falsified, and counterfeit medical products continue to pose a significant challenge to the global healthcare system, which is already suffering from the impact of Covid-19. To address the issue, ASPA and Messe Frankfurt India will unite leading experts from the pharmaceutical segment for a live panel discussion on 11 June 2021.
As a part of ‘The Authentication Forum,’ the current webinar will address the theme of ‘Protecting lives & securing the pharmaceutical supply chain during Covid-19’. Senior leaders, regulatory officials, and international experts will attend and share their perspectives on the burning issue and discuss collective measures to eradicate the unethical and life-threatening practice of pharmaceutical counterfeiting. The group of panelists will include:
- Dr. Praveen Gedam, additional CEO, National Health Authority, Government of India
- Prashant K. Gupta, country head sales, Shriram Veritech Solutions
- Girish Pai, chief business officer, Pharmasecure
- S Swaminathan, chief executive officer, GS1 India
- Rajiv Joshi, partner, forensic and integrity services, Ernst & Young
The webinar will be supported by the authentication partners & solutions providers, including Shriram Veritech, PharmaSecure and Holographic Security Marking Systems.
Elaborating on the aim to host the webinar, Raj Manek, executive director and board member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings, shared, “The increasing penetration of spurious pharmaceutical products has escalated into a major issue across the world. Many countries are still dealing with the pandemic, and under such critical scenarios, it is crucial to find solutions to combat counterfeiting and introduce a new degree of authenticity in the pharmaceutical supply chain.”
Commenting further on the issue at hand, Nakul Pasricha, president, ASPA, shared “The Covid-19 pandemic has overwhelmed India’s healthcare system. There are various issues that need to be addressed immediately, including eliminating sub-standard and falsified medicines from the system and ensuring the availability of affordable and quality health services. As an association, ASPA is committed to build the authentication eco-systems in the country and these webinars are our way to contribute to fighting this menace by bringing this issue into the limelight at all Industry and government forums.”
According to a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 1 out of 10 medicines sold in low and middle-income countries, were tested as substandard and falsified. It is high time for the industry to develop a stronger framework for testing and authentication of pharmaceutical products. “We hope that uniting the industry players through ‘The Authentication Forum’ webinar will aid in deriving resolute measures to resolve the counterfeiting menace that has been ailing the industry for ages,” Manek concluded.
