By CHIOMA OBINNA & EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

In a decisive move to frustrate activities of counterfeiters of its products, Greenlife Pharmaceuticals is formally launching the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) – a SMS-based mobile telephony anti-counterfeiting technique.

The move, it was gathered, is part of a strategy to further protect the integrity of its pharmaceutical brands in the market, is in line with the resolve of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to collaborate with stakeholders to completely rid Nigeria of fake, adulterated and unwholesome pharmaceutical products.

MAS is an innovative technology that puts the power of authentication of the genuineness of a pharmaceutical product directly in the hands of the consumers.

Unveiling the technology, Executive Chairman, Greenlife Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Obiorah Chukwuka said it will provide the consumers with an easy way to connect with the legitimate brand owners as they authenticate products right at the point of purchase.

It will be recalled that the service is powered by the technology of Sproxil Inc. a US-based ICT firm, and was initiated and launched by NAFDAC in Lagos in 2010.

With the deployment of the technology and other anti-counterfeiting strategies already put in place, the company Chukwukah said  the company in collaboration with NAFDAC is determined to consolidate on the safety and reliability of her brands.

The technology works through the following four easy steps: (1) a consumer purchases a pack of drug and removes the sachet from the pack; gently scratch away a surface on the sachet to reveal a 12-digit PIN code; input the PIN code in a phone (any GSM network) and send via SMS to a dedicated toll-free number, 38353 following a code verification process.

Following this,  the consumer receives a message which could be “genuine product” plus additional product information ranging from daily health tips on the disease condition in question and certain identifiers consistent with genuine products.

However where the message is “fake product”, there are additional information on how to contact the relevant authorities.