DRAP Mandates Barcodes for Pharmaceutical Medicines
Unique serial numbers will be required on allopathic and biological products, while alternative medicines, medical devices and other categories remain outside the rule.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has made barcode printing and unique serial numbers mandatory for pharmaceutical and biological medicines manufactured after 19 October 2026. Products without barcodes will not be allowed to be sold in the market once the deadline passes. The requirement is part of an effort to improve medicine traceability.
According to the notification, the new system requires barcodes and unique serial numbers to be printed on medicine packaging. It is intended to allow authorities to monitor medicines through a digital platform and maintain a record from manufacturing to patient use. The digital platform will track each medicine from the manufacturing line through distribution to the point where a patient receives it.
The framework applies to allopathic medicines, including biological products for human and veterinary use. It does not cover alternative medicines, nutraceuticals, medical devices, medical gases or radiopharmaceuticals. ARY News reported that the regulatory requirements are detailed in S.R.O. 963(I)/2026 and noted that the scope should not be described as covering every DRAP-regulated product.
ARY News also cautioned that reports saying all medicines and all DRAP products will require identical serialization may overstate the reach of the regulation. Instead, the mandatory barcode and serial number requirement is limited to the stated pharmaceutical serialization scope.
DRAP has directed the pharmaceutical industry to complete preparations for implementation of the new system. Training workshops for pharmaceutical manufacturers will be held in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. ProPakistani reported that the workshops are being organised on the directions of the DRAP chairman. The training sessions are intended to help manufacturers comply with the new serialization framework.
The authority has said the serialization framework is a step to strengthen medicine traceability from the factory to the patient. The notification was carried by ProPakistani and ARY News on 24 September 2026.
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