TRACKING AND VERIFICATION OF DRUGS USING BLOCKCHAIN: A REVIEW

Abstract

Counterfeit and substandard drugs remain a serious global health threat, particularly in low- and middle-income 
countries where supply chains oversight is limited. This review examines the current landscape of blockchain 
applications for tracking and verifying drugs across pharmaceutical supply chains. Using a systematic literature 
search of peer-reviewed and grey sources (2020–2025) across major databases and project whitepapers, relevant 
studies and pilot projects were selected and synthesized. The review shows that blockchain often combined with IoT 
and smart contracts offers clear advantages for provenance tracking, unit-level serialization, anti-tampering, cold
chain monitoring, and auditability for regulatory compliance. Common platforms include permissioned systems 
(Hyperledger Fabric, Sawtooth, Multichain) and public frameworks (Ethereum, VeChain). However, most solutions 
remain at prototype or pilot scale; widespread adoption is constrained by scalability, interoperability with legacy 
systems, data-privacy concerns, regulatory misalignment, stakeholder governance issues, and cost especially in 
resource-limited settings. The paper concludes by recommending more real-world pilots, regulatory-technology co
design, interoperability standards, and targeted studies in low-resource contexts to move blockchain from promising 
pilots to sustainable, large-scale deployments.