Kingdom of Bahrain NHRA selects MVC to help improve the safety of the medicine supply chain for its citizens
Kingdom of Bahrain NHRA selects MVC to help improve the safety of the medicine supply chain for its citizens
by David Todd | Aug 15, 2020 | News
“The National Health Regulatory Authority announced the implementation of a comprehensive electronic system to track the supply of medicine from its production in the factory until its arrival to the patient, to ensure that counterfeit medicines do not enter the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as to ensure that the medicine is dispensed according to the required procedures, including controlled medicines.
The company “MVC” was chosen by the Supreme Council of Health to implement the project. The company will implement and operate a pharmaceutical supply chain tracking platform to ensure that all regulatory compliance requirements are met in accordance with international pharmaceutical standards and provide the regulatory authority with physical tracking of all products at every stage of the supply chain from original manufacturing to the point of sale within the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The launch of this system comes in implementation of the text of Decision 41 regarding the issuance of a tracking and tracing system for the supply chain of medicines within the Kingdom of Bahrain, which stipulates that drug manufacturers and distributors must use the GTIN Global Trade Item Number for all medicines that are traded in the Kingdom, whether local. Finely manufactured or imported from abroad, or that is manufactured abroad and is packaged and wrapped in factories inside the Kingdom. 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.
For her part, the CEO of the authority, Her Excellency Dr. Maryam Al-Jalahma, stated: “This system will make the Kingdom a world leader in stopping the sale of counterfeit medicines and make the pharmaceutical supply chain for Bahrain safer” adding: “We designed our system in accordance with the European Medicines Verification System, as The 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. Maryam Al-Jalahma praised the Supreme Council of Health’s decision to implement such an advanced solution in cooperation with MVC, a Bahraini company, noting that the organizers of this system can verify the authenticity of products to prevent counterfeiting. Retail pharmacies and hospitals can also scan products before dispensing to verify the database that will improve patient safety by reducing medical errors and improving the accuracy of pharmacy operations.
Commenting on the new partnership, MVC Chairman Sheikha Dia bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa said: “We have built a professional level team in Bahrain to position the Kingdom as a global leader in supply chain tracking and tracing systems. I am honored that our team will implement this important project for the Kingdom of Bahrain. And now, as the Coronavirus pandemic continues, the availability, reliability and safety of pharmaceutical supply chains is a more urgent priority than ever.
It is worth noting that MVC was founded by Sheikha Dia bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa in partnership with AVC Global, a leading blockchain supply chain company that brings together rfxcel, and has become the global leader in the pharmaceutical digital pathway and tracking solutions here in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The MVC platform is available on Amazon Web Service (AWS), Amazon Bahrain.
It is expected that the actual implementation will start at the beginning of 2021 after the completion of the implementation of the integrated system and linking it to the drug import and consumption (DUR) system established by the Supreme Council of Health.”