CSIR’s nonClonableID tag to check duplicate drugs

The tag named, nonClonableID technology, is foolproof and the even a tag manufacturer cannot produce its duplicate, which is easily done in case of barcoding system.

Explaining the new technology, a senior CSIR official told Millennium Post that it has been developed to address the problem of counterfeit medicines through a holistic approach. 

“The CSIR and Billcare Ltd, Pune, parented on a project to demonstrate the ability of novel nonClonableID technology to address the unmet needs in medical product authentication and patient compliance under the CSIR-New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (CSIR-NMITLI) programme,” the official said. 

“The nonClonableID is based on the principle of randomness of particles called blister technology. The tag, which is created out of blister, has both optical as well as magnetic properties, giving a unique identity barring its duplicity even by its manufacturers,” the official said. As a mechanism to check counterfeiting of drugs, a particular tag is put on the blister package and the tag reading machine authenticate the source of a particular drug soon after it gets introduced in the market. “Nowadays, every blister or bottle of drug is coming with a barcode, which provides them an identity, but it can be copied and pasted on other blisters, which will give similar identity to counterfeit drugs too. The same barcode can be put on multiple of blisters and when those drugs are introduced in market, it is not possible to catch the authentic source,” the official said.

“The moment you make this system robust, you will be able to ensure tracing the product whoever is introducing it in the market. Then, spurious drug holders wouldn’t come into the counterfeit act as they cannot introduce fake drugs into any particular cycle,” the official said.

The CSIR official added, “At any stage, one can track the location of a particular consignment through IT communication portal. This technology adds another layer of protection to drug manufactures.”

“We are enabling pharmaceutical companies to adopt this technology, so that they are able to authenticate the product and no third person can introduce a particular brand’s product in the market,” the official said.

“We have tested this technology during the Commonwealth Games as Billcare had used it to manufacture nonClonable police IDs of Delhi Police personnel,” the CSIR official said.