Pakistan's drug regulator has urged consumers to check whether their medicines are genuine — and what they should cost — by scanning the packet with a new smartphone app. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) says its Mehfooz Dawa app lets shoppers scan the 2D barcode on a medicine pack to confirm that the product is registered and to see the price approved by the regulator, as part of a drive against counterfeit drugs.

How the check works

Each medicine pack carries a GS1 DataMatrix 2D barcode with a unique serial number, alongside the product's identity, batch number and expiry date. Scanning the code with the app pulls up the registered product's details and its official price, so a buyer can spot a fake, an unregistered product or an overcharged pack before paying. The app is linked to a central track-and-trace system for medicines distributed across Pakistan, which became operational on 9 October 2026.

About 800 pharmaceutical companies and more than 90,000 medicines are registered with DRAP, according to Sajid Shah, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Health Services. Compliance with 2D barcoding and serialisation became mandatory from 9 October for registered products manufactured locally or imported on or after that date, while earlier stock is exempt.

A long-delayed system

The barcode plan has been a decade in the making. The idea was first proposed in 2015 and approved by the federal cabinet in 2017, but implementation stalled for years. Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, who took notice of the delay, pressed for the system to be launched as soon as possible, and DRAP set 1 October as the cut-off for the barcode launch before the track-and-trace system went live on 9 October.

The government told the National Assembly on 30 October that the project will be formally launched by the Prime Minister by the end of November. Once fully in use, the system is also intended to help regulators trace medicines through the supply chain, support recalls and take action against those making or selling counterfeit products.