Counterfeit products affect many industries, including pharmaceuticals. Here is a home-grown alternative that can help weed out the menace of fakes in a number of sectors — ranging from automobiles to security services

Counterfeiting and piracy are generally perceived as victimless crimes with 'fakes' simply constituting a 'cheap, alternative' purchase. According to estimates by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), about 7%-10% of global trade is derived from counterfeit products.

However, many companies are now coming up with new devices and technologies to fight the counterfeit menace. Pune-based Bilcare Ltd has come up with a non-clonable technology, which it believes can fight against counterfeit products.

Dr Praful Naik, chief scientific officer, Bilcare, told Moneylife that his company's product uses a non-clonable technology, which covers identification, authentication and track-and-trace from origin to point of sale with usage in myriad sectors like pharmaceuticals, security services and agrochemicals.

Bilcare uses material sciences technology. The random physics principle with metal molecules at micro- or nano-structured composites can be embedded in any substance. The randomised millions of molecules are difficult to replicate. Metals have nature that can emit magnetic and optical properties. The digitised image created can be hidden behind a bar code or tags. A specific reader can be connected to a backend computer wirelessly to read the digitised image and authenticate the bar code or tags within seconds.

Comparing this technology with a DNA marker that can stand in a court of law, Dr Naik said that the non-clonable nanotech fingerprints cannot be copied by anyone, including Bilcare. Another advantage is that the non-clonable technology can help manufacturers to track their products throughout the supply chain.

Dr Naik believes that the pharma industry can use the technology to help curb counterfeit and pirated drugs. In the first phase, the companies can use the technology to prove whether a medicine is manufactured by them or not. This will also assure customers that the drug they are buying is genuine.

However, speaking to Moneylife, Dr Naik conceded that it may not be a cake-walk to sell the technology to the pharma industry. The cost of each digitised image stored with a bar code is Rs1.50 and pharma companies are not too keen on spending such amounts of money on this technology. "The reason for apathy is that Indian pharma companies are doing extremely well and are not much bothered with some incidents of 'counterfeits,'" Dr Naik said. However, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has shown willingness to consider this cost while deciding the ceiling price for a drug, he said.

The technology can even help to make Indian currency notes fake-proof in the future. Indian currency notes are susceptible to counterfeits even after having 17 security features. Bilcare is providing 70,000 non-clonable ID cards for the Delhi police for the Commonwealth Games (CWG). Dr Naik talks highly about the Delhi police approving the product usage for the CWG in a record timeframe, unheard of in government circles.

He told Moneylife that Japanese auto parts manufacturers are using Bilcare technology with great success to prove that they support warranty for only genuine parts and also to have access to the history of the auto part with respect to warranty date and service.

Dr Naik shared with Moneylife information about the diverse nature of clients interested in the product. Some Europe-based museums are interested in using the technology. These museums want to ensure that the antique pieces they put on display at an exhibition are returned in the original. A wine producer in the US has accepted the non-clonable technology. Even the security department of one Asian country has been using this technology for identification.