By Nancy Urizar (June 26, 2018, 2:24 PM EDT) -- Counterfeit drugs are fake medicines that may be contaminated with ingredients not listed on the drug label or contain the wrong active ingredient, the wrong amount of active ingredient or no active ingredient at all.[1] The World Health Organization estimates that "1 in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified."[2] The problem of counterfeit drugs is not limited to low- and middle-income countries. In 2013, Congress passed the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA)[3] to combat its growing problem with counterfeit drugs.[4] Title II of the DQSA, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)[5] "outlines steps to build an electronic, interoperable system" by 2023 that would be able "to identify and trace certain prescription drugs as they are distributed in the United States."[6] The DSCSA requires trading partners, or manufacturers, repackagers, wholesale distributors, dispensers, and third-party logistics providers, to comply with certain requirements in order to enable such traceability and security. In order to meet their obligations under the DSCSA and curb the sale of counterfeit drugs, the pharmaceutical industry is evaluating the possibility of using blockchain technology to track and trace drugs across the supply chain.[7]...