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QR codes may be made mandatory for vaccines, cancer drugs and antibiotics to prevent the supply of fake medicines.
These QR codes will authenticate the medicines as the scan will display the manufacturer’s name and address; batch number; date of manufacturing; expiry date; and manufacturing licence number, among other details.
The plan comes after India’s apex drug regulator last year directed strict enforcement of bar codes or QR codes on 300 generic medicine brands such as Allegra, Shelcal, Calpol, Dolo and Meftal Spas.
QR code to check the quality of medicines
An official aware of the matter said, “Displaying QR codes on vaccines, cancer drugs and antibiotics was discussed in the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) meeting held last week. This initiative is planned to be implemented in a phased manner. This is an important task to monitor the quality of medicines in the country and ensure patient safety.”
Besides, the apex drug regulator has ordered strict enforcement of existing regulations, including Schedule H1, the official said.
According to the Drugs Rules, 1945, vaccines, cancer drugs and antibiotics fall under Schedule H. These are ‘high-grade drugs’ that cannot be sold without a prescription.
market size
Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics says the domestic vaccine market size for FY24 was estimated at around Rs 1,730 crore.
As far as cancer drugs are concerned, India is witnessing a rise in demand for affordable medicines due to extensive government initiatives to improve access to healthcare. According to Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, the market size of oncology drugs in India was estimated at $1.83 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $2.62 billion by 2029.
Industry stakeholders said the growing demand for vaccines in India is driven by increasing population, rising awareness towards healthcare and government efforts to boost vaccination coverage.
Dr. Santi Sajan, Group COO, Paras Health, said, “This visionary move is set to significantly impact the pharmaceutical industry by enhancing transparency, improving traceability and ensuring the authenticity of these critical products. For the government, this system will streamline regulatory oversight, reduce counterfeit risks and ultimately protect public health.”
He said the vaccine market is projected to grow 5.63% annually from 2024 to 2029 to reach $1.31 billion by 2029. By 2030, the value of the Indian oncology drug market is expected to reach $10.6 billion.
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