Pharmaceuticals will always be attractive to counterfeiters. They are relatively inexpensive to produce and easy to make look convincing. The regulation and enforcement infrastructure to protect against counterfeiting varies considerably worldwide; even in developed nations, the penalties are an inadequate deterrent to organised criminals. The serialisation of pharmaceutical products is vital to eliminate counterfeiting and increase patient safety, yet such a complex addition to the packing line can cause significant challenges. Mark King at Essentra Packaging explores the benefits of outsourcing serialisation.