Bahrain’s National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) will introduce a block-chain backed comprehensive electronic system to track and trace the drug supply from its production in the factory until its arrival to the patient to ensure that counterfeit drugs do not enter the country.
The move is implemented as part of NHRA’s implementation of the Resolution No. 41 of 2017 regarding the “issuance of a tracking and tracing system for the supply chain of medicines within the Kingdom of Bahrain” will also ensure that the drug is dispensed according to the required procedures, including controlled drugs.
Bahrain based MVC Global was chosen by the Supreme Council of Health to implement the project.
MVC will implement and operate a pharmaceutical supply chain tracking platform to ensure that all global pharmaceutical regulatory compliance requirements are met and provide the regulator with physical tracking of all products at every stage of the supply chain from original manufacturing to a point of sale within the Kingdom.
NHRA’s Resolution No. 41 stipulated that drug manufacturers and distributors shall be committed to using the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) for all medicines circulated in the Kingdom, whether they are locally produced or finished products imported from abroad, or Medicines manufactured abroad and packaged in manufacturing sites inside the country.
Specifications are prepared to contain the drug’s GTIN number. And the expiration date of the drug and the operational number (Batch Number). And the serial number of each package (Serial Number).
Dr. Maryam Al-Jalahma, CEO of the authority, said: This makes the Kingdom a world leader in stopping the sale of counterfeit medicines and makes the pharmaceutical supply chain for Bahrain safer. We have designed our system according to the European Medicines Verification System where drug manufacturers collectively finance the system based on sales. Without any financial cost to the authority, hospitals, pharmacies and import agents will not have to pay any additional fees.
Dr. Mariam Al Jalahma praised the Supreme Council of Health’s decision to implement such a state-of-the-art solution and the fact that MVC is a Bahraini company. She went on to explain that Regulators can check the authenticity of products to prevent counterfeits. Retail/Hospital Pharmacies can scan products before dispensing to check against the NHRA/MVC database which will improve patient safety by reducing medical errors and improve the accuracy of pharmacy operations.
Commenting on the new partnership MVC Chairwoman, Sheikha Dheya bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa said, “We have been building a world-class team in Bahrain to position the Kingdom as a world leader in supply chain track and trace systems. I am honored that our solution and team will be implementing this significant project for the Kingdom of Bahrain. Now with the ongoing pandemic, the availability, authenticity, and safety of pharmaceutical supply chains is a more urgent priority than ever before”.
MVC Global
MVC was formed by Sheikha Dheya bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa in partnership with AVC Global, a leading-edge blockchain-enabled supply chain company bringing rfxcel, the global leader in pharmaceutical digital track and trace solutions together here in Manama. MVC’s platform is now available on Amazon Web Service (AWS), Bahrain.
The actual implementation is expected to begin early 2021 after the implementation of the integrated system and linking it to the import and consumption system of the drug originating from the Supreme Council of Health (DUR).
