Counterfeit drugs cause a huge problem not only for our society but also for the pharmaceutical industry globally. It most importantly affects the brand equity of India in global markets as a major exporter and manufacturer of pharma drugs and other medical products.

Pharmaceutical industry has been using RFID for a while. But now, with the increasing threat of counterfeiting, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates and recommends the use of RFID in pharma industry. Pharmaceuticals industry is still struggling with counterfeit drugs. FDA policy has a world-wide effect on manufacturers. In 1987 the Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) was written to address the problems of drug counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Pharmaceuticals pass through many different points in the distribution chain from the factory to the local pharmacist. This leaves the system vulnerable to the introduction of counterfeit drugs. For this reason, the product development and management association (PDMA) requires verification of the source of pharmaceutical shipments.

With Jekson RFID from Pam Pharmaceutical & Allied Machineries Pvt. Ltd each company can maintain its own e-pedigree. The term "e-pedigree," means an auditable electronic record of every step taken by a retail package of prescription drugs as it moves from the factory to the final point of sale.

This system enables to track the data of manufacturing operations, condition of the drugs, when it was shipped and who was responsible for the shipments, each instance where the drug changed hands, including signatures of those shipping and receiving the products either digital or on paper.

e-pedigree solution
RFID tags are affixed on cases and consignments and a serialised electronic product code is put for identification, detection and subsequent segregation of genuine and counterfeit pharma drugs and medical supplies globally. This would obviously benefit pharma manufacturers, health regulators and pharma distribution supply chain, including chemists, druggists, stockists and most importantly consumers.

Jekson RFID use Jekson e-pedigree reader and antenna as hardware and fully customisable software developed at PAM-Jekson Software Development Centre to implement the RFID technology.

Optimising supply chain
Optimising the supply chain has also been one of the biggest challenges of the healthcare sector. It globally loses $2 billion due to overstock and expiry. E-pedigree helps in optimising supply chain which would enable to achieve stock reduction, increase in value added time and reduction in supply chain costs. It also helps in FIFO management, recalls of expired drugs, real-time tracking of expensive and critical instruments, restrict the access of drugs to authorized staff, accurate matching of test specimens to the patients and reduction in medical errors.

Tracking through e-pedigree
Tracking, in general, could help improve the integrity of the supply chain. Pharmaceutical companies can maintain much tighter control over legitimate shipments by clearly identifying and tracking products, cartons and pellets, and ensure that they aren't hijacked or stolen. This also can prevent products from falling into the hands of counterfeiters, who could dilute or alter the drugs and then foist them on unsuspecting pharmacies and consumers.

Only a complete e-pedigree can tell whether goods are authentic. Pam with Jekson provides fully accomplished online tracking system. It provides insight into the challenges for pharma industry as well as various types of RFID technology that can help overcome these challenges.
(More information can be obtained at nagaraja.pillai@acg-world.com)