TAGSYS, SYSTECH, and SupplyScape Deploy Their Integrated Counterfeit Solution for Pfizer Viagra Bottles

TAGSYS, SYSTECH, and SupplyScape have brought their complete, integrated solution that allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to serialize, package, and distribute products, enabling supply chain partners to authenticate drugs throughout the supply chain. The companies are presently working on multiple pilots and introductory programs in the U.S. and Europe to create significant barriers to counterfeiting and diversion. The most visible application is the item-level program for the Pfizer drug company in their France plant. Pfizer is tagging 100% of U.S. bottle shipments of Viagra, a popular target for black marketers and counterfeiters.

John Jordon, President of TAGSYS, explains that the Pfizer program shifts the responsibility of drug authenticity to wholesalers and pharmacists, who will be compelled to purchase readers to authenticate every bottle. Jordon believes that the success of the Viagra RFID protection will impress other companies looking to protect their brand. "It's a working model that other companies realize works," he says. The solution addresses three critical areas of system integration and deployment: 1) RFID tagging for authentication at the item level; 2) packaging line device management and data capture; and 3) authentication services with e-Pedigree compliance and management.

France-based TAGSYS supplies the item-level RFID hardware, TAGSYS tags are used on the bottles, and its interrogators and antennas read the tags. Alien Technology, based in California, supplies the case and pallet tags. SYSTECH's TIPS® Serialized Product Tracking solution manages all packing line devices, including encoding and recording EPC serial numbers to the RFID tags and barcodes. The software verifies the data on the RFID tag and barcode, establishes the parent-child relationships of the product to be shipped, and stores the information in a secure database.

Once compiled in SYSTECH's system, the individual drug information is exported to software applications by SupplyScape, based in Woburn, MA. SupplyScape's software can interoperate with supply chain partners' applications to manage drug bottle authentication and pedigree for each drug as it passes throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Pfizer's RFID goals

Pfizer believes RFID will both protect consumers and increase consumer confidence in their product by providing end-to-end verification. Following RFID guidelines released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer has been at the forefront of evaluating the use of RFID on product packaging.

Though the initial Pfizer program may not utilize the full potential for e-Pedigree Authentication and track-and-trace applications throughout the entire supply chain, those capabilities will most likely be expanded later. "This is a much nicer adoption curve," Jordon says. "Track-and-trace will justify itself."

The TAGSYS unit-level RFID inlays are a stock 5/8" x 1" flexible form factor that carry 512 bits of memory (384 bits of user memory), and are affixed to Viagra's regular labels. The 2" x 3" pressure-sensitive smart labels are wrapped around individual 30- or 100-count bottles. A Domino Amjet laser coder performs unit-level coding with HF 13.56 MHz tags, which carry the EPCglobal logo, RFID warning, and Data Matrix barcode. Pfizer emphasizes that their systems will not allow any collection of personal consumer information.

One of the key considerations in the deployment of RFID by Pfizer is the ability to produce fast, reliable, accurate, and secure readings with a very low failure rate. TAGSYS' HF RFID readers are capable of reading up to 400 tags in a dense pack setting in a matter of seconds, with an industry leading accuracy rate of over 99.9%.

SYSTECH International, with worldwide headquarters in Cranbury, NJ, provides packaging management solutions with real-time packaging device management. The TIPS serialization sequence is illustrated in detail on the SYSTECH Website (www.systech-tips.com/pdf/tipsdatasheet.pdf). This arrangement supplies track-and-trace serialization at multiple levels of unit, case, and pallet, and meets FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance.

Visit TAGSYS at www.tagsysrfid.com, SYSTECH at www.systech-tips.com, SupplyScape at www.supplyscape.com, Alien at www.alientechnology.com, Domino Amjet at www.dominoamjet.com, and Pfizer's counterfeit area at www.pfizer.com/counterfeit.

Rick Lingle, Editor of the e-newsletter RFID Antenna, contributed to this article. To subscribe to RFID Antenna, go to www.packworld.com/newsletters.