NITI Aayog partners with Oracle, Apollo Hospitals, Strides Pharma to weed out fake drugs

In order to curb fake medicines, NITI Aayog has partnered with Oracle, Apollo Hospitals and Strides Pharma Sciences to work on a real drug supply chain using blockchain technology.

The partners will pilot a real drug supply chain using blockchain decentralized ledger and internet of things (IoT).

Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, said, "The problem of fake and counterfeit drugs is a major issue, costing the Indian pharma industry billions. At the same time, it’s putting patients at higher risk. This agreement with Oracle and our partnership with Apollo Hospitals and Strides Pharma, will help ensure all Indian drug manufacturers and healthcare experts have access to a standards-based, modern technology platform – blockchain and IoT, to help eliminate fake drug distribution." 

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world in volume, which accounts for 10% of the world’s production. 

Shailender Kumar, regional Managing Director of Oracle India, said, "With blockchain, every movement of the drug through its supply chain is recorded – that way, the drug supply chain is completely transparent, secure, decentralized and verifiable. We believe blockchain and IoT can play a significant role in ceasing fake drug distribution and we are all geared to work with NITI Aayog in this major program."