Kezzler AS, a global leader in brand protection at the unit level, has been adopted by Belgian pharmaceuticals giant UCB for the Indian market. UCB have for several years applied Kezzler’s technology platform for protection of its exported products out of India. The new partnership expands that operation to cover domestic products within the Indian market, with expected rollout in 2015 Q1.

Kezzler was the first company to introduce the concept of serialization to India as a way to protect both consumers and brand owners against the menace of counterfeiting, duplication, product diversion, and other illegal activities. UCB was among the first companies to use the Kezzler technology, which allows consumers to instantly verify after purchase whether the medicine is genuine, within the valid expiry period, and not subject to a recall notice. A simple SMS of a unique code on the package (or scanning of the barcode with a Smartphone) covers all of the possible safety provisions.

Milind Kulkarni, director of supply chain at UCB said, "When it comes to patient protection, it is most important to select the right technology. Kezzler has a proven track record of success, both in India and across the world. Our own experience with Kezzler has been absolutely superb and they were the natural choice as we plan to expand our consumer protection programme for the Indian domestic market in 2015".

Dr Avi Chaudhuri, chief business officer and head of Kezzler's India operations, added "UCB has been a leader in taking proactive steps to protect their consumers. We have been proud to be associated with UCB in India and now look forward to a much larger programme as we expand our operational activities."

Kezzler’s approach to serialization and track and trace starts with a Unique Identifier Code (UID) for secure generation and authentication/tracing of codes (encrypted digital identities) in a mass production environment and at the unit level in multiple business sectors, including pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, food and dairy to mention a few.

“We believe our technology platform has been proven as a cost effective business solution in preventing counterfeit products with seven of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world and is now being utilized with global consumer goods companies,” said Kezzler CEO Magnar Loken. “The scalability and power of our platform is something that has been proven in the brand protection space and now is gaining significant traction in supply chain management and consumer engagement via mobile and digital applications.”