New Hologram Meditag

Pharmaceutical Services Depaftment (PSD), Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) always
strives to ensure that all pharmaceutical products including traditional medicine and health
supplements sold in Malaysia are of high quality, effective and safe for consumption. All
pharmaceutical products have to be registered with the Drug Control Authority (DCA) before
it is marketed and sold to consumers. Control over the sales of pharmaceutical products was
started in 1985 with the first phase of registration for product containing poison listed in the
Poisons Act 1952. The enforcement of registrations was then continued with non-poison
products (OTC) in 1988, traditional medicinal products in 1992 and followed by veterinary
products which will be enforced in 2014. Each registered pharmaceutical product is given a
specific registration number (eg; MAL 20001564T) which must be printed on the label or its
packaging.

In the initial stages, enforcement on the registration numbers was effective and managed to
assist consumers to purchase medicines with peace of mind. However, market surveillance
conducted by the Pharmary Enforcement Division, MOH has identified the existence of
pharmaceutical products using fake registration numbers or registration numbers that
belong to other products. This happens because the registration numbers are easily copied
and consumers are finding it hard to verified its authenticity in the market.

To overcome this problem and to restore consumers'confidence, an improved measure was
taken with the introduction of the Meditag hologram sticker on all pharmaceutical products.
This hologram was first introduced in 2005 with an extensive safety features that can be
verified by both consumers and pharmacy enforcement officers. The holograms are supplied
by Syarikat Mediharta Sdn Bhd and are only sold to licensed manufacturers and importers to
avoid abuse by irresponsible parties. All registered products must then display their product
registration number and Meditag hologram security label on its packaging. This hologram
was later upgraded to the second version in 2006 with enhanced security features and tools
to enabled easier verification by consumers.

To enable consumers to verified the authenticity of the Meditag hologram label, MOH has
supplied a device called Meditag decoder to all licensed pharmacies and pharmaceutical
Enforcement Branches across the country since 2006. These decoders can be used by the
consumer to verify the authenticity of Meditag hologram label on the pharmaceutical
products purchased. Consumers are also encouraged to purchase health-related products
from legitimate premises such as licensed pharmacies. The pharmacists would be able to
provide consumers with proper advices and counseling before purchasing any product to
avoid confusion due to similarity in appearance or indication of certain medication.
Pharmacists are always ready to assist consumers on verifliing the authenticity of the
product purchased,

Verification of the product registration number and information regarding the registered
product can be obtained by logging on to the official website of National Pharmaceutical
Control Bureau at http://www.bpfk.gov.my. Information regarding the registered product can be
obtained directly from the website. Any registration number that does not exist in the
system might be fake.

To be ahead of the counterfeiters, an improvement was made on the second version of the
hologram. On 1st  November 2012 the third version of the hotogram (Meditag III) has been
approved for use. This hologram is equipped with the latest security features and is more
user-friendly.

For further assistance or additional information regarding this matter, kindly contact:
Pharmacy Enforcement Division
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Lot 36, Jalan Universiti,
46350 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-78413200 Fax: 03-7968225
Website: www. pharmacy.oov. mv
E-mail : pharmacy1@moh.gov.my