EFPIA to launch medicine barcode experiment in 2008

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) will launch a pilot study next year in a European Union country to test the 2D data-matrix barcoding system for medicines.

A Euro 1m budget will be allocated for this pilot study, said Jean-Marc Bobee, vice-director of new technologies at Sanofi-Aventis. He added that it has not yet been decided in which country the study will take place.

In February 2006, the EFPIA's board decided to recommend 2D data matrix technology to its members, so that a single coding standard can be established for medicines throughout Europe. For the moment, the association prefers this barcode technology - already used in stores and pharmacies - to the more advanced but more costly RFID technology.

The EFPIA working party on distribution has prepared an action plan to facilitate the setting up of this unified European coding system, which aims to respond to patients' need for safety through distribution chain security and traceability.

Systems have already been set up on a national level (notably in Italy, Belgium and Spain) but the industry has no norm for the identification and coding of pharmaceutical products. In France, the data matrix system will become obligatory by 2011.

Each company will enter 2D data matrix-encoded data into a databank. Before dispensing a product to a patient, the pharmacist will scan it with a barcode reader and the encoded data will be compared with the manufacturer's codes via an electronic data hub. A verification message will then be sent to the pharmacist.

Later, it is intended to extend the system to cover wholesalers, so that every product will be able to be tracked and traced as it is transferred. Encoded data will include the product code, batch number, expiry date and a serial number per box.

Pharmacists and hospitals will buy the 2D matrix readers and pay for software installation and updates. They could also be asked to contribute to costs linked to the data interchange network.

The EFPIA working group estimates that the industry as a whole will pay a total of between €150m and €600m for the installation of 2D matrix equipment in packaging lines - but costs linked to the data interchange network will also be 'significant'.

Sanofi's Bobee said that 'for a company like us, the timeline [to implement 2D Data matrix in packaging lines] is evaluated at three years'.