Modi govt eyes QR, barcode to plug leak in supply chain of Covid drugs

The (Indian) Modi government is eyeing QR and bar codes as possible tools to check the alleged black marketing of key Covid-19 drugs, ThePrint has learnt. The move follows complaints that drugs such as remdesivir, tocilizumab and favipiravir — investigational medicines allowed for emergency use among Covid-19 patients — are being sold at over 10 times their price on the black market. Explaining how the codes may be deployed, the officer said they “can be scanned at various points of the supply chain until the product reaches the final consumer”.