Even as the Government has launched barcoding for exports of medicinal products in phases and is mulling the track and trace system for domestic supply chain, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has denounced it as a 'half baked measure.'

Triggering a fresh debate on the contentious issue of track and trace system, NPPA chairman C P Singh said the agency had studied the system and found it 'inadequate and less comprehensive' to ensure quality of drugs and stop the prevalence of spurious drugs.

“In some way, it looks like a technology promotion. In this era, we know that comprehensive and cost effective technology can be the only solution to tackle the issue. But the proposed track and system technologies are not comprehensive and seem like a half-baked exercise” he observed, while taking part in deliberation of stakeholders on safe medicines the other day.

However, Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Mridul Jain claimed that the barcoding system introduced by the Centre had made a difference abroad, going by the responses. She also said the government was going ahead with the plan to make it effective for primary packing also as scheduled.

The barcoding on the secondary packaging for exports of pharma products came into effect from January 1, 2013.  Barcoding on primary packing will come into effect from July 1, 2013, as per the current schedule. The ultimate goal is to implement the track and trace system also in the domestic sector.

Backing the claims of the small and medium level companies which felt that the barcoding itself was expensive, the NPPA chief said the technology should be cost-effective and the present available options put pressure on the companies.

Meanwhile, the health ministry is learnt to be examining the report of a task force which favoured the introduction of track and trace system. The task force which was set up by the government last year has recommended the adoption of SMS model and unique identification code as an ideal method for the track and trace system as it was found to be more viable and affordable to the industry. The team which was headed by Dr H G Koshia, as the chairman also recommended that this should be adopted in a phased manner from larger group to smaller group so that the industry can get enough time to adjust to the new changes.