Italy to Introduce Controversial Drug-Tracking System

Italian health authorities are to introduce a drug-tracking system designed to trace individual packets at all stages of the distribution chain, from production to the final consumer. An initial phase of the project is to launch shortly, at a reported cost of EUR25.0mn (US$32.57mn), with drugmakers and distributors required to input large amounts of information. The project follows sophisticated systems which already exist in markets such as the US.

The system has been designed to help health authorities track the efficacy of products by correlating sales information against epidemiological data. However, industry groups have already protested the initiative's likely cost and say it will do little to address the real problem in the Italian market -- the prevalence of copy and counterfeit drugs. The initiative tracks only products sold through legal domestic channels, while most of the counterfeit products come from abroad, with many of them sourced from internet suppliers.