Hard to read drug labels may soon be loud and clear
expiry date
and other details on a medicine strip due to tiny prints on a shiny surface? Help is on the way. India's drug regulator has formed an expert committee to revamp labelling of
medicinal products
to make it easy to read, people familiar with the development told ET.
The move follows increasing consumer complaints, particularly over difficulty in locating the expiry date, and glossy and shiny surfaces of medicine strips that make labels hard to read.
'Various concerns have been raised by the consumers from time to time, like the letters of expiry date are too small, and, hence, it's important to look at this matter,' a government official said.
There have also been calls for a universally recognised symbol on
generic medicines
to help distinguish them from branded ones.
The matter was taken up by the
Drugs Consultative Committee
(DCC) under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (DCC) this month. The panel decided to constitute a sub-committee to look into the matter in detail and submit a report. It recommended including a
packaging expert
in the sub-panel.
The sub-committee would also evaluate the feasibility of incorporating suitable regulations for suppliers of packaging materials such as printed foils under Drugs Rules, 1945.
The government is also considering
voice-assisted QR codes
and
braille cards
on medicine strips to make them patient friendly, bring transparency and improve
patient safety
, people cited above said.
A committee will soon be constituted for the same, they added.
The regulator may consider mandating that medicine strips should contain 10 units and integrate QR codes with voice assistance features, sources said.
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