How to Check a Medicine Is Genuine Before You Take It

The World Health Organization estimates that roughly one in ten medical products in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified. Specialty medicines are a particular target, because they are expensive enough to make counterfeiting profitable.

These are checks you can carry out yourself.

Start with the supplier, not the packet

Most of the risk is decided before anything is shipped. A supplier worth buying from will, without being pushed:

• Name the manufacturer of each product, not just the brand
• Provide batch number and expiry date before purchase, not after
• Require a valid prescription for prescription-only medicines
• Give a contactable address and a person who answers questions
• Explain how temperature-sensitive items are shipped

A supplier that sells prescription medicines without a prescription has already told you how seriously it takes regulation. That is the single most useful signal available.

Check the packaging

Genuine packaging is manufactured to a consistent standard. Falsified packaging usually fails somewhere:

• Print quality — blurred text, uneven ink, misaligned colours
• Spelling — errors in the drug name, the manufacturer name or the leaflet
• Batch and expiry — must match between outer carton, blister and any inner packaging
• Seals — tamper-evident features intact, not reglued
• Leaflet — present, correctly folded, in a language appropriate to the market

Compare against a photograph of the genuine pack from the manufacturer's own site where you can.

Verify the batch where a system exists

Many manufacturers and several national regulators run verification systems. Depending on the market you may be able to:

• Check a serialised 2D barcode against the manufacturer's database
• Use a national regulator's verification portal or SMS service
• Contact the manufacturer's medical information line directly with the batch number

Not every market has these. Where one exists, use it.

Look at the product itself

Compare against what you received last time, if this is a repeat:

• Tablet or capsule colour, size, shape and any imprint code
• Whether tablets are chipped, discoloured or unusually powdery
• For injectables: particles, cloudiness or discolouration in what should be clear solution
• Any change in smell

Manufacturers do occasionally change appearance legitimately, but they announce it. If something looks different, ask before taking it.

Price is evidence

A price far below every other source is not a discovery. Specialty medicines have real manufacturing and distribution costs, and legitimate margins are not large enough to explain a 90% discount. Treat an implausible price as a warning rather than an opportunity.

Cold chain is part of authenticity

A genuine biologic that spent a week at ambient temperature may be inactive. It will look perfectly normal. Ask how temperature-controlled items are packed, whether a temperature indicator travels with the shipment, and what happens if it reads out of range. Our cold chain guide covers what good practice looks like.

If you suspect a problem

• Stop taking it and keep the packaging, including the outer carton
• Contact the prescriber — some conditions are dangerous to interrupt abruptly
• Report to the national regulator; most have an online form
• Contact the manufacturer with the batch number

Reporting matters even when you are unsure. Regulators identify falsified batches by pattern, and patterns need reports.

What we do

Every product we list names its manufacturer, and you can see the full manufacturer directory with country of origin. Prescription items require a prescription. If you want to check something before ordering, ask us — a supplier that will not answer that question is answering it.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Treatment decisions belong with a qualified clinician who knows your history. Every medicine mentioned is prescription-only and requires a valid prescription.