IBM has unveiled an RFID system for tracking and tracing pharmaceutical goods, making it more difficult for counterfeit drugs to get to market, and helping to protect consumers by ensuring the drugs they use match the prescription from their physician.
     The US Food and Drug Administration has endorsed RFID as a promising technology to help ensure that the medicine in the bottle is exactly what the doctor ordered, IBM says. From the point of manufacture to the point of sale, drugs can change hands as many as ten times. 116.30.145.87 This article is copyright 2006 UsingRFID.com.

     IBM''s new software and services are designed to help manufacturers protect product from theft and fraud and avoid replacement costs for product recalls and tarnished brand value.

How it works
     The IBM RFID system for the pharmaceutical supply chain uses a combination of RFID software and services to capture and track the movement of drugs through the supply chain.

     RFID tags are embedded on products at the unit, case and pallet level and authenticate the product from manufacturer to wholesalers to hospitals and pharmacies.

     Each tag contains a unique identifier that can be linked back to descriptive product information such as dosage and strength, lot number, manufacturer and product expiry date.

Benefits
     Renard Jackson, executive vice president for Cardinal Health, explained: "As part of a multi-pronged approach, RFID is a promising technology that has the potential to add an additional layer of security and improve efficiency across the entire supply chain, which is why we have partnered with companies such as IBM in a pilot programme to determine its feasibility and effectiveness in a real-world setting."

     In addition to consumer protection, the IBM system is expected to help manufacturers and distributors improve their own performance by reducing inventory, better targeting recalls, and providing a faster response to market demand.

     The new system is based on the IBM WebSphere software platform and an architecture that allows clients to reuse existing assets, building applications more quickly and at a low cost of development.

 

 

 

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