The Medicines Verification Institute, the national body set up specifically for drug verification, said Monday its IT system had been connected to the EU hub used to exchange data between national authorities.

The hub has been designed and is maintained by the European Medicines Verification Organisation.

A pilot phase will now follow during which selected Slovenian hospitals, medicine wholesalers and pharmacies will be connected to the system, with participation mandatory for all stakeholders from 9 February 2019.

The drug verification system is an attempt to fight counterfeited drugs with additional safety features such as unique identifiers for each individual packet of drugs, a dedicated barcode, and anti-tampering devices.

The aim is to secure traceability from the point of production through the entire chain to the end consumer.