PharmaChain: Blockchain-based drug supply chain provenance verification system

Area of Science:

• Blockchain Technology
• Supply Chain Management
• Pharmaceutical Science

Background:

• Pharmaceutical companies face challenges in standardizing product traceability.
• Counterfeit drugs pose a significant risk to public health and the pharmaceutical industry.
• An end-to-end tracking system is essential for drug safety and combating counterfeit products.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce PharmaChain, a decentralized framework for pharmaceutical supply chain traceability.
• Leverage blockchain technology for enhanced confidentiality, accountability, and interoperability.
• Improve drug traceability to prevent counterfeit pharmaceuticals and protect public health.

Main Methods:

• Developed PharmaChain using a decentralized Hyperledger Fabric framework.
• Implemented on-chain and off-chain storage for secure and rapid transactions.
• Utilized smart contracts for data provenance and employed elliptic curve digital signature algorithm, hash data encryption, and a 33% node attack simulation for security demonstration.

Main Results:

• PharmaChain provides a secure and transparent platform for pharmaceutical product tracking.
• The framework demonstrates robust security features against potential threats.
• Smart contracts ensure data integrity and provenance throughout the supply chain.

Conclusions:

• PharmaChain offers an effective solution for improving drug traceability in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
• The proposed framework enhances security and accountability, crucial for preventing counterfeit drugs.
• Implementing PharmaChain can significantly contribute to preserving public health by ensuring drug authenticity.