Pfizer is a global pharmaceutical leader, and like many in the industry, it needed stronger brand protection against a growing counterfeit problem. Fake medicines were entering the supply chain in several international markets, threatening consumer safety and weakening trust in the brand. Kezzler helped Pfizer give every product a unique, verifiable identity, so pharmacists and patients could confirm authenticity in seconds. The result: a 40% reduction in counterfeit medicines in Hong Kong within a year.
Challenge
Fake drugs put patients and pharmaceutical companies at risk
Counterfeit medicines are a global health crisis. More than one in ten medicines in low- and middle-income countries are substandard or falsified, and no country is fully exempt, according to the World Health Organization. As supply chains grow more international and complex, fake products increasingly slip into legitimate distribution channels.
For Pfizer, a range of widely used prescription medicines ranked among the most heavily counterfeited in the world. The problem caused measurable revenue loss in Hong Kong and other Asian markets. Counterfeit pills also carried direct health risks for patients and threatened the brand’s reputation. So Pfizer set out to find a fast, reliable, and scalable way to verify its products and protect its name.
Solution
Drug authentication built on serialization
Pfizer Hong Kong selected Kezzler to deploy a serialization solution suited to the demands of pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution. Every pack was assigned two unique identifiers: a visible 2D barcode and a hidden 15-digit alphanumeric code concealed under a tamper-evident peel-off layer.
Patients and pharmacists could verify authenticity in seconds, either by sending the code via SMS (free of charge) or entering it online. Implementation was fast: labels were applied at distribution centres rather than on packaging lines, and full rollout completed within weeks of the first batch approval.
A local marketing campaign helped inform consumers about the new verification feature and how it worked.
Download the full case study for the complete technical setup, the point-of-sale integration added later, and how the platform expanded across additional product lines and markets.
Read the full case study
Results
Pharmaceutical traceability that scaled across markets
The impact was measurable and immediate:
- 40% reduction in counterfeit medicines in Hong Kong within 12 months
- Consumer trust restored, protecting sales against aggressive entry of generic competitors
- Solution extended to cover additional Pfizer product lines in Hong Kong
- Rolled out to Vietnam, Thailand, and Nigeria, covering multiple pharmaceutical products
- Pfizer awarded Kezzler an internal Commercial Innovation Award for the deployment
- Since the launch of Kezzler’s SMS security labels in 2012, zero counterfeit packages bearing a Kezzler label have been detected
“From our experience, counterfeit versions of security labels are very often detected within 6–8 months after their launch. Since the introduction of Kezzler’s ‘PASS’ SMS security labels in 2012, not one counterfeit package with Kezzler SMS label has surfaced.” Ivan Ho, Regional Global Security Director, Pfizer Hong Kong
