Branded Story / FarmaTrust

Combating Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals

According to a recent PWC report, up to 30% of all drugs in circulation are fake, leading to around a million deaths annually, including 450,000, preventable deaths from malaria alone. Tragically, unjustly, the counterfeit drugs industry has to a degree, been able to go unchallenged and is now said to be worth $200 Billion pa. Whilst some of those 450,000 deaths can be attributed directly to the toxic ingredients (such as rat poison, floor wax, industrial chemicals and the like) used to produce counterfeit drugs. We have found many more are a result of substandard drugs being sold to unsuspecting consumers, with little to no active ingredients present in drugs, which would otherwise have saved the consumers from preventable or curable diseases. This callous force, which all too often can go untraced, knowing no boarders, must be stopped in its tracks.

Here at FarmaTrust, we have developed the most efficient global tracking system which provides security to the pharmaceutical companies, governments, regulators and crucially, the public, that counterfeit drugs do not enter the supply chain. Our Blockchain based system Zoi utilises Artificial Intelligence and big data analysis to provide the pharmaceutical industry with value added services which allow for more efficient processes and methods as well as a more transparent supply chain. Our system is safe, secure, encrypted and immutable.

Using the blockchain, we are able to track pharmaceutical drugs from the point of manufacture until the point of consumption by working with unique labelling or smart RFID labelling. Crucially we will remain sensor neutral, so it can continue to work with any sensor innovations. Completely and utterly futureproof. Moreover, in certain countries where technology solutions are not available, then we provide smartphone Apps to collect data from customs authorities, logistics providers, pharmacies and hospitals. This is alongside our consumer app, which empowers every singe mobile phone user on the planet with confidence in the genuine source of pharmaceuticals. Simply scan and instantly verify genuine products.

Working alongside governments and ministries of health is of integral importance to us at FarmaTrust. We have recently begun work with the Mongolian Government and thus far, it has been a greatly rewarding experience. By providing a holistic view of medicines within the territory, nations using our system can monitor current spending levels and forecast future budgets like never before. Furthermore, within the global political climate of today, accountability and transparency are key. In many countries across the globe, drugs are subsidised by the government through tax payers. This national subsidised system requires that public finances are auditable and spent efficiently. FarmaTrust gives governmental organisations complete visibility across their territories, thereby allowing for the identification of waste, through expired drugs or “leakage”.

Within the pharmaceutical industry, major challenges remain. Such issues related to pharmaceutical products include the differing legislations across jurisdictional borders, compliance thereof, and the enforcement of these rules. So, within this sphere, the mission of FarmaTrust is to become the provenance system of choice for the pharmaceutical supply chain, by providing an effective and global data verification and coordination layer which provides pharmaceutical companies a cost-effective approach to meet track and trace regulatory compliance. It is here, where we can truly generate efficiencies.

I am personally driven by an overarching goal to protect the vulnerable by eliminating deadly counterfeit medications on a global scale. Unfortunately however, counterfeit drugs are on the rise. In fact, reports of counterfeit or falsified anti-malarials rose 90 percent between 2005 and 2010, according to a 2014 article in the Malaria Journal.

To my mind, we finally have the technology, so as a global community, the time to act is now.

Raja Sharif is the Founder and CEO of FarmaTrust. He is driving the company’s vision and mission of protecting the vulnerable by eliminating deadly counterfeit medications on a global scale and providing data services to the pharmaceutical industry. He is a corporate and commercial Barrister by background, having worked as General Counsel and company secretary managing legal affairs, risk and good corporate governance. He has sat on the Boards of most of the companies and was usually involved in M&A activity as well as listing Raja has managed a number of technology and media projects worldwide for some of the best known brands, including British Telecom and Al Jazeera. He established FarmaTrust after researching and developing the blockchain service.

Lord Anthony St John of Bletso is a Crossbench/Independent Member of the Houseof Lords, he was brought up in South Africa, where he qualified as a solicitor. After completing his Masters in Law at London University, he worked as legal counsel for Shell and then an oil analyst/specialist sales for several institutions in the City, including Merrill Lynch, focusing on Sub-Saharan African and the Far East. He is currently Chairman of Strand Hanson and Integrated Diagnostic Holdings plc and serves on the board of several public and private companies and has recently become a member of the House of Lords Ad Hoc Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. His specialist interests are cyber security, financial services and life sciences.