PHARMACEUTICAL

Blue Vector's Smart RFID Tunnel Reads HF and UHF

Blue Vector Systems (www.bluevector.com) extends its RFID product line for the pharmaceutical industry to include a dual-frequency RFID conveyor tunnel with the ability to read HF-tagged items within UHF-tagged totes and containers. The Smart Conveyor Tunnel builds upon Blue Vector's dual-frequency Safe and Secure Smart Cabinets for drug storage and order picking. The tunnel supports Gen 1 and 2 UHF tag standards. For HF, it supports the ISO 15693 and 18000-3 tag standards. Blue Vector's Smart Conveyor Tunnel includes all components necessary for operation.

It allows manufacturers, packagers, distributors, and retailers to verify and authenticate the contents of totes and cases carrying individually tagged items. Dual tag standards are a requirement for the pharmaceutical supply chain, in which HF tags are historically the dominant standard. Cases and totes typically carry UHF tags.

An embedded Blue Vector Edge Manager in the tunnel manages the multiple sensors required and executes business rules in real-time as cases and items are scanned. These rules can be used to remove cases from the line, to load EPC-compliant information into backend systems, to authenticate items with the original manufacturer, and to send advance shipping notices to supply chain partners. The tunnel can be configured and monitored via a Web interface provided by the Blue Vector system.

New RFID Tag First to Deliver 'Onboard' Security for Pharma Supply Chain

SecureRF (www.securerf.com) announces an RFID tag with onboard security and cold chain management features, targeting pharmaceutical supply chain applications. The new tag uses SecureRF's breakthrough in security technology to actively authenticate and encrypt reader/tag communications, an industry first. This solution will help pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors provide a tamper-proof record right down to the item level that will prove the packaged drug is authentic, and ensure privacy by allowing only authorized readers access to sensitive information.

The new RFID solution is based on SecureRF's breakthrough cryptographic protocol, the Algebraic Eraser® (AE). Thousands of times more efficient than existing methods for an equivalent level of security, the AE makes it possible for the first time to put authentication and data protection protocols directly on a passive RFID tag and provide high levels of communication security with readers.

The SecureRF tag also includes a temperature sensor. It addresses industry issues of pharmaceutical cold chain management by monitoring and securely recording an item-level temperature history. It also provides strong privacy protection for consumers and will help address Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy requirements. The SecureRF tag prevents unauthorized reading of the information in the tag with strong authentication, something today's RFID tags cannot do.

SecureRF's first secure tag, a battery-assisted passive tag that supports EPCglobal Gen 2 standards, will be available for industry pilots early in the first quarter of 2007. The company also plans to add a secure passive tag to its product offering in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Vue Technology's UHF Solution for Tracking Liquids, Bottles, Blister Packs, and Gels

Vue (www.vuetechnology.com) announces the industry's first UHF solutions for item-level RFID in retail pharmacy. It is based on the TrueVue® RFID Platform and includes the benefits of expiration notification, confirmation of received inventory, automated ordering notification, automated recall management, support of e-pedigree and counterfeit diversion detection, and instant product lookup.

"By delivering the proven benefits of item-level RFID to the pharmacy using standard UHF technologies, Vue has now made it possible for a chain drugstore to standardize store-wide inventory tracking on a single RFID infrastructure," says Robert Locke, CEO of Vue Technology. "This solution builds on our success in other retail categories, and opens the door to widespread adoption of item-level RFID in the pharmacy."

Impinj Showcases Embedded-Tag Technology

Impinj, Inc. (www.impinj.com) announced the results of a live demonstration conducted by the HealthCare Packaging division of Owens-Illinois (www.o-i.com) at the RFID Health Care Industry Adoption Summit in Washington, D.C., November 12-15, 2006.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing and fill-line demonstrations, a near-field UHF Gen 2 RFID solution, comprising Impinj's Speedway® reader and O-I's item-level embedded RFID tags powered by Impinj's Monza® chips, achieved 100% reliability when reading and writing tags at high speed on pharmaceutical bottles. In the first demonstration, the UHF Gen 2 system programmed 96-bit EPC numbers at rates exceeding 600 tags per minute on bottles containing the four most common dose types — liquids, gel caps, solids, and powder. In the second demonstration, the system developed by Impinj and O-I flawlessly read 600 tags per minute on cases containing 48 individually tagged bottles and a case-level tag.

"These results are a true breakthrough in item-level RFID implementation," says Michael Liard, Research Director, RFID, and Contactless at ABI Research. "The demonstrations validate that a near-field UHF RFID solution exists and that it provides remarkable performance and reliability. The focus on RFID as part of the packaging, and not a standalone label attached to the packaging at the item level in pharmaceuticals, is both innovative and exciting. With these solutions being made available, we can expect to see increased interest among pharmaceutical manufacturers and retailers evaluating item-level RFID."

Certicom Collaborates with TI for Encryption and Authentication

Certicom Corp. (www.certicom.com) launches Certicom Security for RFID Product Authentication, a solution that ensures authenticity and prevents counterfeiting of high-value items as they move through the supply chain. In collaboration with Texas Instruments (www.ti-rfid.com), Certicom is using its elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) expertise to add item-level RFID tag security that protects product information and proves the legitimacy of products, such as pharmaceuticals and other high value consumer goods. For products like these that require a high level of security, RFID solutions providers can use Certicom security and TI's family of ISO 15693 RFID tags to deliver product protection with authentication and encryption.

Certicom uses standards-based and proven cryptographic protocols for its RFID appliance, including a standardized public-key cryptography scheme from IEEE 1363a. This efficient ECC-based digital signature scheme enables a high level of security to be added to the tag without requiring a lot of computing power and storage. For example, at 160 bits, ECC provides the same level of protection as a 1024-bit RSA key but is approximately one-third the size.

Certicom Security for RFID Product Authentication works as a distributed system where there may not be dedicated Internet connectivity to a database, to provide real-time authentication of a tagged product. A simple application programming interface (API) enables developers to integrate the product's components with RFID middleware and enterprise applications.

Escort Memory Systems And KNAPP Complete RFID Pharma System Sale

KNAPP Logistics & Automation Inc. and Escort Memory Systems (www.ems-rfid.com) announced the sale of another group of integrated RFID controller/reader units plus additional tags, network interfaces, and cabling for use in an advanced automated prescription pharmacy system for a mail order pharmaceutical company.

Slated for use in the latest of several of KNAPP's systems using RFID equipment from Escort Memory Systems; this most recent purchase uses the Cobalt TM controller architecture and takes advantage of advanced features including integrated reader/controllers, multi-drop Subnet 16 networks operating over Ethernet broadband and Dashboard integration tools.

Kobus de Kock, VP Engineering, for KNAPP Logistics & Automation Inc. says, "EMS has worked closely with us to insure that the new Cobalt HF-class RFID systems meet the difficult challenge of extreme reliability in the highly automated systems supplying prescription drugs."

This new family of RFID systems supports complex automation projects in many fields including pharmaceutical, automotive, electronics, food processing, clinical and other application requiring reliable RFID auto-identification of work-in-progress (WIP). The Cobalt TM family of products operates at the universal HF RFID frequency of 13.56 MHz. Unlike other developing RFID standards such as EPCglobal UHF standards, the HF standards (ISO 15693 and 14443A) have been in use for several years and have the track record of stability and support essential for meeting ROI, reliability, and schedule requirements of complex automation projects.

The Cobalt TM family now includes integrated reader/antennas covering the complete operating range up to 24" (610 mm) for HF RFID (13.56 MHz) and featuring point-to-point Ethernet and Industrial Ethernet connectivity for the highest possible communication rates. Multi-drop Subnet16 networks with up to sixteen integrated reader/antennas per communication module offer both high speed communications and lowest installed price per point.

Log-ic™ Pharmaceutical RFID Temperature Sensor

Intelligent Devices Inc. (a subsidiary of Information Mediary Corp.) in partnership with American Thermal Instruments Inc. (ATI) launches its RFID temperature tracker to pharmaceutical cold chain customers. The Log-ic™ Temperature Tracker (www.log-ic.com) can help to facilitate better control over the cold chain at a lower cost.

Log-ic has been tested extensively in early adopter trials for transoceanic monitoring with industry leaders like Sanofi, La Croix Rouge (French Red Cross), Pandol Brothers, Chiquita Brands, and others. It weighs less than 1 ounce, is 2" square, and is about 0.1" thin. It is a flexible RFID sensor tag capable of processing up to 64,000 readings per trip. The tags can be programmed and their data collected via the CertiScan™ wireless 13.56 MHz RFID solution.

SupplyScape and SAP Help Pharmaceuticals Enhance Patient Safety

SupplyScape™ Corporation announces its SAP certifications and integration with SAP's RFID infrastructure. SupplyScape™ is the only ePedigree solution that is SAP certified. The majority of the top 20 and many of the next 30 pharmaceutical companies rely on SAP's enterprise systems for managing their pharmaceuticals.

Now that it is certified as "Powered by NetWeaver," SupplyScape™ is working with SAP AG to help pharmaceutical companies secure the drug supply chain against counterfeiting. Pharmaceutical companies utilizing the SAP mySAP® ERP and Auto-ID Infrastructure (AII) solutions can leverage SupplyScape's e-Pedigree application to meet current pedigree regulatory requirements, while laying the foundation for a comprehensive security roadmap including product serialization and RFID tagging. The integration of SupplyScape's e-Pedigree solution with SAP's Auto-ID Infrastructure (AII) enables companies deploying RFID or other serialization technology to integrate serialized information into enterprise business processes.

"Pharmaceutical companies have made it clear that they seek a flexible pedigree solution that leverages their SAP investments for regulatory compliance and product security," states SupplyScape President Shabbir Dahod. "The extensive business support for serialization, system validation, and operational integration capabilities infused throughout e-Pedigree helps manufacturers meet short-term pedigree and product security needs out of the box while opening the door to greater business opportunities."

The Florida Department of Health designated SupplyScape as the first certificate authority for electronic drug pedigrees. Now, digital certificates required by Florida regulations are available from SupplyScape. Used to sign electronic pedigrees, these compliant digital certificates increase drug security and reduce cost throughout the drug supply chain, allowing trading partners to securely and automatically authenticate the pedigrees for their drug products. Visit www.supplyscape.com.

Cisco Demonstrates Belgian Victim Tracking And Tracing System

Cisco Systems (www.cisco.com) has showcased a new solution designed to simplify the registration and identification of casualties affected in a disaster situation. The solution, co-developed with AeroScout (www.aeroscout.com), CITS (www.citsolutions.be), Intermec (www.intermec.be), and Orion Health (www.orionhealth.com) is called BeViTTS (Belgian Victim Tracking and Tracing System). It allows for the rapid exchange and automatic processing of data collected by emergency workers at the scene of a disaster. The critical information is collected in real time using Cisco's mobile and wireless network technology, and stored and made available to the emergency workers via a web-based portal, thus eliminating the loss of precious time.

The crisis management team can consult the personal information contained in the database remotely from the crisis center and immediately implement the required measures. Hospitals and other crisis support centers also have access to the medical information stored in the database, thus allowing them to prepare for the arrival and subsequent treatment of the disaster victims.

The core of the Belgian Victim Tracking and Tracing System is the Cisco 3200 Series Wireless and Mobile Router, also called the Mobile Access Router (MAR). This is a compact, robust, and extremely flexible device that is suitable for creating a wireless network connection in and around vehicles. The device can support many different network connections, both fixed and wireless, and can automatically switch from one to the other. If there are several available connections, the intelligent router automatically chooses the connection that guarantees most bandwidth. More details on the Cisco 3200 Series Wireless and Mobile Router can be found at www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps272/index.html.

The AeroScout tags utilize the Cisco wireless network for the hospital and eliminate the need for a dedicated location network and provide a scalable and easy to manage solution. The technology is especially suitable for environments or situations where data collection is extremely difficult and unpredictable and where there can be no guarantee that a barcode will remain clearly visible.

IMC's RFID-Enabled Digital Trial Package

Information Mediary Corporation (IMC) offers the Med-ic™ ECM® Digital Package (ECM: Electronic Compliance Monitoring). This device provides precise inventory monitoring in clinical settings for blister-packaged medications (or in the case of Med-ic eCAP, for bottled medication). It uses an RFID based smart sensor tag that integrates seamlessly into existing blister package configurations and conforms to current packaging production methods. It records the time each capsule is removed from the blister package, which is read by an accompanying scanner for analysis. No personal or private information is stored on the packages. Medi-ic won the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council's Compliance Package of the year award at Interphex in March, 2006. Visit www.informationmediary.com.