Researchers at the Portland State University (PSU) have programmed a new blockchain-based protocol aimed at preventing counterfeit pharmaceuticals from entering the market.

The work is published in a paper titled “A new product anti-counterfeiting blockchain using a truly decentralized dynamic consensus protocol” within the journal named “Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience”. It is a joint effort, put together by PSU professor of computer science at the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, Nirupama Bulusu and PSU computer science doctorate student Naif Alzahrani.

Specifically, the new protocol is a blockchain-powered tool aimed to provide a safer and more secure way to record transactions, which helps combat fake medicine through checks and decentralization. The tool will track every piece of data in the process, creating a chain of information. The encrypted data can only be accessed and updated by those who have the specific security key for it. The protocol can theoretically be applied to any supply chain no matter its scale.

Prof Bulusu said she created the protocol because counterfeit pharmaceuticals harm the most vulnerable international populations.

“We wanted to come up with something that’s foolproof,” she said.

Most anti-counterfeit systems are currently centralized, which makes it easier to pass off fake items.

“This protocol could potentially disrupt and disable illicit supply networks,” Prof Bulusu added.

Her protocol could come in handy to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In February, The Crypto Sight reported that the FDA is considering the inclusion of blockchain in its fight against illegal drugs in the healthcare supply chain.

Blockchain technology is also being extensively utilized in the fight against counterfeiting across different industries. Elsewhere, IBM and Seagate, for example, have formed a collaboration to tackle the counterfeiting of hard drives. Meanwhile, Medici Ventures has funded an Israel-based company to develop a blockchain-based wine tracking platform.