Pharma sector overlooking new approaches to anticounterfeiting
There is a lack of awareness of the new technology and solutions available to combat and control counterfeiting and supply chain issues among management in the pharmaceutical industry, a global survey has revealed.
There is a lack of awareness of the new technology and solutions available to combat and control counterfeiting and supply chain issues among management in the pharmaceutical industry, a global survey has revealed.
Commissioned by global IT services and technology company Unisys, the survey reveals that more than half of all senior executives within pharmaceutical companies are unaware of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). However, one in three of those surveyed has grasped the potential of RFID, with 26% of respondents actively evaluating it and 6% having already implemented it.
According to the US FDA, the use of RFID 'will make the copying of medications either extremely difficult or unprofitable'. But 13% of respondents admitted that they have decided not to implement RFID technology at all.
RFID technology could enhance the supply chain between the drug manufacturer and the pharmacy, by not only tracking and tracing goods, but also through authentication. To use the tracking technology, pharmacists would use scanners to check individual packets of drugs, receiving confirmation of the product's authenticity within a few seconds.
'With new drug development cycles requiring significant investment, improved measures to combat counterfeiting is critical,' said John Bright, partner, Unisys Commercial Practice. 'Beyond satisfying the FDA and reducing the counterfeit threat, pharmaceutical organisations that adopt RFID could generate significant operational and financial benefits in inventory management, improved order accuracy and enhanced overall supply chain performance.
'RFID tagging of products by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers appears to be the most promising approach to reliable product tracking and tracing.'
The launch of the research coincides with the un-veiling of Unisys Global Visible Commerce Solutions, designed to help companies increase the value of their operations by giving executives near-real time views into their global supply chains. Unisys Global Visible Commerce Solutions act as 'super aggregators,' collecting and analysing low-level data from an increasing number of supply chain data feeds - such as RFID tags, cellular devices and barcodes - and injecting it into existing legacy applications, giving companies a single view into their extended supply chains.