Staying ahead of the fakers

Counterfeiters of pharmaceutical products have become more sophisticated in their methods, and the industry is trying hard to make the next leap in security technology. For some, this means RFID. For others, it means synergy between many solutions. Jim Banks reports.

In the fight against the influx of fake drugs into the supply chain, the pharma industry is devoting more time and resources to the development of 'track-and-trace' technology. Systems that produce a pedigree for every product item - logging where it has been, when it has been there and who has had access to it from the source through to the customer - would be a powerful weapon.

The emerging technology with the greatest potential is widely believed to be radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging. Already pursued aggressively by some major players in the general retail market, RFID is now gaining ground in pharma.

'In the USA in 2004, the FDA issued a White Paper on counterfeiting, which focused on RFID as the technology to combat the problem,' says Simon Raban of HP. 'The industry has followed with pilot programmes, and we realised that our anti-counterfeiting experience could be useful to the pharma industry.'

This experience comes from HP's long service in the inkjet supply business, where many of the same problems are encountered with regard to product identification, tracking and security. HP has embarked on a programme to bring its knowledge to bear on product security in the pharmaceutical sector, and its insight is already prompting change.

While pharma is beginning to come round to RFID, Raban suggests the industry would do well to keep its options open: 'RFID is a very important technology, but it is not the only technology we can focus on. The industry should look at a complete and complex set of solutions rather than just focusing on tracking.'

What Raban proposes is a combination of RFID and other track-and-trace technologies, such as imprinted 2D matrices, working with solutions that authenticate the product itself, including marking the packaging and in the label: 'Our programme has a unique focus on how to effectively integrate track-and-trace aspects with product authentication techniques, in order to make counterfeiting more difficult. The industry may focus on RFID, but we say that is not the only magic bullet.'

Integration and cooperation

The update on anti-counterfeiting recommendations from the FDA in May 2005 suggested that this broader approach is finding more support. It recommended the further development of anti-counterfeiting technologies to complement RFID.

If both RFID and sophisticated product authentication techniques are pursued, one key challenge will be examining how those technologies interact and how they can best be integrated. HP has taken an integrated approach from the start, recognising the importance of both aspects in foiling counterfeiters.

The result is the creation of HP's centre of expertise, focused solely on developing solutions for track-and-trace and product authentication. It is currently working with a prototype that combines RFID and product ID systems.

Refining the technology, however, is only the start. 'To implement this effectively we need cooperation from partners in the industry - retailers, manufacturers, everyone,' says Raban. 'This is difficult to achieve everywhere, as all parties must have the right technology. One hole in the data means the track-and-trace process has failed. We need a simple way to implement it and cost is also a concern.'

Ultimately, Raban is talking about a situation where technology as accessible and familiar as a smartphone with a camera could be used to perform product authentication at any stage of the supply chain. Instead of hardware installation, software downloads could be used to configure systems to identify individual products.

Such simple, cost-effective solutions will, nevertheless, take some time and money to develop. The one factor that can accelerate the process is widespread cooperation among industry players, and the sooner they act, the sooner they will protect the supply chain.

Company profile

Hewlett Packard’s strategy is to offer products, services andsolutions that are high tech, low cost and deliver the best customer experience. Its team of 150,000
operates in over 170 countries. Revenues for the year end October 2004 reached $79.9bn.

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