How to check if your medicine is genuine

Fake vs. substandard: know the difference

Indian regulators separate the problem into two groups, and it matters for how you check:

• Spurious / counterfeit medicine — made by someone other than the claimed manufacturer. It may contain no active ingredient, the wrong ingredient, or something harmful. It imitates a real brand's packaging.
• Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) — made by the real manufacturer but it failed a government lab test: wrong potency, dissolved badly, or contaminated. This is the far more common problem, and it is exactly what CDSCO's monthly bad-batch lists name.

A pack can look perfectly genuine and still be on an NSQ list — which is why checking the printed batch number against official notices is more reliable than eyeballing the box alone.

10 things to check on the pack

• Batch number — a code like CLB26009 linking this production run to the lab tests. No batch number on a strip or box is a serious red flag.
• Manufacturing and expiry dates — check both. Expired stock is sometimes re-labelled; look for smudged or double-printed dates.
• Manufacturer name and full address — a real pack names the actual manufacturing site, not just a marketing company.
• MRP and tax details — a price far below the usual retail price is a classic fake signal, especially for expensive antibiotics.
• Drug license number — printed on genuine packs sold in India.
• Active ingredients and strength — matches what your doctor prescribed, e.g. "Paracetamol IP 500 mg".
• Print quality — genuine packs have crisp, even printing. Blurred lettering, spelling mistakes, misaligned panels, or a shiny re-taped seal suggest a fake.
• Seals, holograms and tamper strips — intact and consistent with the brand's usual packaging.
• Blister foil — the same brand name, batch and expiry printed on the foil as on the box.
• Where you bought it — a licensed pharmacy with a displayed drug license is far safer than a social-media seller or an unverified online listing.

Authentication codes and QR codes on packs

Many Indian medicine packs now carry an authentication code — a QR code or alphanumeric code you can scan or type into the manufacturer's own verification site. It is one of the strongest checks you can do yourself:

1. Find the QR code or scratch panel on the pack (often on the back panel or the strip).
2. Scan it with your phone camera, or visit the verification website printed next to it.
3. Enter the code exactly as printed.
4. Confirm the details it returns — product name, batch number and manufacturer — match your pack.

One caution: a copied-but-valid code can be printed on a counterfeit pack, so treat a "verified" result as strong evidence, not absolute proof. If the code has already been used or the details don't match what's printed, do not take the medicine.

Banned medicines and combinations in India

India's Ministry of Health, acting on CDSCO advice, has prohibited hundreds of medicines — including many "fixed-dose combinations" (two or more drugs pressed into one pill) that were never approved or were found unsafe. Examples of banned combinations include nimesulide + paracetamol and several irrational cough-and-cold mixtures; banned single drugs include phenylpropanolamine, analgin (metamizole) and rosiglitazone.

These are still found in some shops because old stock keeps circulating. To check whether your medicine is affected, read the ingredients list on the strip or box — the brand name alone won't tell you — and compare it against the official banned list. You can browse the current banned list in our banned & recalled medicines dashboard.

Bad-batch and recall lists

CDSCO publishes monthly lists of batches that failed government lab testing (substandard) or were found to be spurious, naming the manufacturer, the product and the exact batch numbers. Regulators in other countries, like the US FDA, publish drug recall notices that also cover medicines supplied internationally.

VeriMed AI keeps these lists in one searchable place and refreshes them automatically every day from the official feeds. You can search them by medicine name, manufacturer or batch code in the recalls dashboard, and every notice links back to the original government source.

Check a pack in under a minute

Doing all of the above by hand takes time. VeriMed AI does it for you from photos:

1. Snap up to six photos of the pack — front, back panel and blister strip work best.
2. The AI reads the batch number, expiry, ingredients, manufacturer and regulatory markings.
3. It checks those against the daily-updated banned list and bad-batch notices, and verifies any manufacturer QR code on the pack.
4. You get a verdict with colour-coded evidence, and — importantly — the app would rather say "inconclusive" and ask for a clearer photo than guess.

VeriMed AI is a screening aid, not a lab test. A clean result means no official red flags were found — for any medicine you actually suspect, confirm with your pharmacist or doctor.

What to do if you suspect a fake

1. Stop taking the medicine and keep the remaining tablets, the pack and the receipt.
2. Contact your pharmacist or doctor — they can compare the pack with verified stock and advise on continuing treatment safely.
3. Report it to the state drug controller or through CDSCO's grievance channels. Reports from patients are how spurious batches get traced and pulled from shelves.
4. Do not throw the evidence away — regulators can only act on batches they can trace and test.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if a medicine is fake?

Check the batch number, expiry, manufacturer address, MRP and print quality, and scan any authentication QR code. Then check the batch number against official recall and bad-batch lists — that last step catches packs that look perfectly genuine.

What is a batch number on medicine?

It's the code identifying the exact production run — for example, every box printed in the same factory shift shares one batch number. It's how regulators trace a problem back to specific boxes, which is why fake packs often get it wrong or omit it.

Are medicines bought online in India safe?

Only from licensed e-pharmacies that display their drug license and require a prescription where needed. Marketplace listings and social-media sellers are the most common source of counterfeit medicines.

Is my medicine banned in India?

Read the ingredients list on the pack and compare it with the official banned list in our recalls dashboard. Brand names change; the ingredient combination is what the ban applies to.

Can an app really detect a fake medicine?

An app can read what's printed, spot signs of manipulated or AI-generated images, and cross-check the batch and ingredients against official government data instantly. It cannot run a chemical test — so treat it as a fast screening layer, and confirm real suspicions with a pharmacist.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. Medicine decisions should always involve a qualified pharmacist or doctor. Data sources: CDSCO prohibited-drugs and monthly NSQ/spurious batch lists, and the US FDA drug enforcement feed, refreshed daily.