Zuellig Pharma, a leading healthcare services company in Asia, has announced the launch of eZTracker in Thailand and partnered with global pharmaceutical company, Galderma (Thailand) Ltd to help consumers identify unauthorized aesthetics products.
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The blockchain-based mobile application was developed to address the growing challenge of counterfeit health products in the local healthcare and aesthetics industry, starting with verifying Galderma’s hyaluronic acid dermal fillers, Restylane.
Counterfeit health products are a growing global challenge. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1 in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or counterfeit. In 2018, the global incidence of counterfeit seizures increased by 63% from the previous year.
The case of counterfeit is predominant in Thailand’s aesthetics product industry. In 2019, the Department of Special Investigation seized 400,000 counterfeit or un-registered beauty products, such as Botox and fillers, that were sold to aesthetics clinic throughout Bangkok. “More patients are concerned about the authenticity of the products they are receiving with reports of the prevalence of counterfeit aesthetics products in the market. As counterfeiters are becoming more sophisticated in imitating packaging, counterfeit aesthetics products are becoming increasingly difficult to identify,” said Dr Puttipong, Director of AIC Clinic.
To provide a solution for counterfeit aesthetic products in Thailand, consumers can now use eZTracker, a blockchain-based mobile application to verify the product by downloading the application on their mobile phones and scanning the QR code on the packaging of the product. eZTracker will immediately verify if the product is from an authorized distributor and provide information on batch number and expiry. If a product is from an unauthorized source, consumers can provide information and trigger an alert to the authorized distributor and Zuellig Pharma to further investigate.
Pucknalin Bulakul, General Manager of Zuellig Pharma Thailand said, “eZTracker was launched in response to an epidemic of counterfeit products, inferior aesthetics and surgical products that were not registered with the Food and Drug Administration. These counterfeit products must stop circulating in the market as they may have detrimental health effects on users and can cause complications or even lead to death.”
eZTracker not only addresses counterfeit products but also facilitates investigations and product recalls and identifies instances of cross-border trading. With blockchain technology, each product’s movement along the supply chain can now be tracked, providing greater assurance to both doctors and patients.
Pirapat Sriwattanawong, Head of Aesthetic Business Unit, Galderma (Thailand) Ltd added “Galderma aims to help consumers protect, nourish and enhance, skin health. To achieve this, it is imperative for consumers to use the right products that are from an authorized source. We have partnered with Zuellig Pharma to empower consumers to help them confidently verify their product.”
Pucknalin added, “Zuellig Pharma is committed to providing high quality innovative solutions and enhancing product quality for customers. With eZTracker, we have applied blockchain technology to improve traceability of products along the supply chain, and achieve unparalleled levels of quality control and compliance to improve patient safety. This puts us closer to fulfilling our mission of making quality healthcare more accessible to the Thai community and builds trust in the industry. We hope to expand the scope of this service to more products in the future.”
