While the COVID-19 pandemic originated in 2019 causing thousands of deaths worldwide, a “pandemic of bad drugs” killing hundreds of thousands of people globally keeps occurring every year.

An investigation led by The Guardian journalists in 2019 estimated that only the surge in counterfeit and poor-quality medicines to treat malaria and pneumonia alone is behind 250.000 children deaths a year according to doctors’ testimonials. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that number to be over 300.000 children deaths a year. Even more people are thought to die from poor or counterfeit vaccines and antibiotics used to treat acute infections and diseases such as hepatitis, yellow fever or meningitis.

Tag Trace Systems developed a technological solution that can save peoples’ lives by allowing both, doctors and patients, to verify that the drugs they are prescribing, or consuming are genuine, detecting counterfeit drugs before consumption.