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In 2011, a man was jailed for eight years for conducting counterfeit medicine fraud that amounted to a retail value of £4.7 million. As a result of him being able to infiltrate the pharmaceutical supply chain, 25,000 packets of counterfeit medication reached pharmacies and patients all over the UK. These knock-off tablets were used to treat heart disease, pancreatic cancer, and mental illnesses and had none, or only part, of the active ingredient they were supposed to contain. Sadly, this meant that those people’s illnesses were left to take their course.
Unfortunately, while tremendous effort goes into ensuring the effective operation of every pharma supply chain, the losses are staggering. With the global counterfeit drug market worth £154 billion and one million people dying due to fake medicine around the world each year, a reliable supply chain is paramount. Enter: blockchain. While blockchain harnesses a plethora of benefits, addressing its shortcomings is necessary to ensure that implementation of the technology can be utilised to its full effect.
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