Astrazeneca sees the adoption of radio frequency
identification (RFID) by its supply chain as vital to counter the
increasing threat of organised crime in counterfeiting
pharmaceutical products.
For pharmaceutical companies like Astrazeneca, RFID is less about
cutting costs and making supply chains run more smoothly, and more
a question of patient safety and product security.
According to the company's global RFID project director, John
Morgan, RFID adoption will cut down on errors during drug
prescription, dispensing and administration, and help prevent the
fraudulent use of products, including counterfeiting.
Morgan told the EPCglobal conference in London that Astrazeneca's
use of RFID dated back to 1996.
Its immediate RFID developments are now being driven by the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), which is championing "pedigree" - a
secure record of where a drug was manufactured and
distributed.
According to the FDA, RFID tagging of products "appears to offer
the most promising approach to reliable product tracking and
tracing", although it admitted there was no silver bullet for
counterfeiting.
"Our problem in the pharmaceutical world is that there is no
Wal-Mart driving everyone towards adoption," said Morgan. "Even the
FDA has not mandated RFID."
Morgan said Astrazeneca was still piloting RFID, and aimed to roll
it out first in the US.
One of the likely barriers to success, he said, was the lack of
data sharing in the pharmaceutical industry. "Unlike the retail
sector, we just do not have that history of sharing
information."
No free RFID ride, users warned >>
Wal-Mart woos SMEs >>