According to experts, the adoption of blockchain technology is poised to address the issue of counterfeit medicines that pose a significant threat to Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.
Oluseyi Akindeinde, the CEO of Hyperspace Technologies, highlighted that blockchain could facilitate the serialization of pharmaceutical products and enable the assignment of security features that are verifiable through product scanning.
Akindeinde, in an interview with NewsNow, explained that pharmaceutical products could be safeguarded by integrating encrypted non-fungible token (NFT) tags to create unique identities for the products.
The encryption of an NFT ensures the protection of information using a special code, allowing only authorized individuals with the correct code to access details such as ownership and attached data, thereby enhancing the security of digital assets on the blockchain.
Counterfeit drugs continue to pose a major challenge in the pharmaceutical sector, with an estimated impact of $5.3 billion this year, as forecasted by Goldstein Market Intelligence analysts.
Recently, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control announced the destruction of fake and expired goods worth over N500 million in Abuja.
The regulatory agency revealed that the destroyed drugs included psychoactive and controlled substances such as antibiotics, antihypertensives, antimalarials, herbal snuff, herbal remedies, and drugs confiscated from street vendors.
According to the United Nations, substandard drugs lead to 500,000 deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa, with 267,000 of those deaths attributed to fake antimalarial drugs and 169,271 attributable to substandard antibiotics for severe pneumonia.
Furthermore, Akindeinde explained that the blockchain incorporates entities called smart contracts, which are immutable lines of code.
He emphasized that each product is assigned a unique identification tag affixed to the product’s packaging within a smart contract, making manipulation impossible.
Akindeinde stated, “This technology offers a simple method for customers to verify product authenticity by scanning them with their smartphones. It has the potential to significantly reduce the risk of counterfeit drugs in the pharmaceutical industry.”
He stressed that fake drugs not only endanger lives but also undermine the integrity of the entire industry, causing reputational damage to legitimate pharmaceutical companies and eroding trust in the nation’s healthcare system.
Adewale Kayode, Director and Team Lead at Sirfitech, also highlighted the authentication and transparency benefits of blockchain technology.
He emphasized that the technology can be deployed across the entire supply chain, from raw materials to manufacturing and other value chains, capturing crucial data such as names, identity numbers, laboratories, registration numbers, expiry dates, and manufacturing dates.
Kayode explained, “This data can be used to create a Decentralised Identity (DiD) accessed via a web3 wallet. Ultimately, it results in a barcode that can be scanned with a compatible web3 wallet to determine the authenticity of the product without revealing its actual data.”