RFID enables pedigree

Posted on June 20, 2006
Filed Under Enterprise Software, Innovation |

The use of RFID in pharma has been a hot topic for a couple of years because it offers the promise of combatting the two big problems in the drug business today, counterfeiting (Viagra) and illegal distribution (OxyContin). The FDA has had some contradictory rulings on RFID in the face of protests and endorsements from the drug industry (often at the same time), and I think it’s safe to say that these issue boil down to who is going to pay for the technology rather than opposition to the technology itself. There are 4 primary links in this chain, the drug manufacturers, the distributors, healthcare providers, and perhaps most importantly, insurance companies (and remember that the federal and state governments fall into the category of insurance as well as healthcare providers).

The states of Florida and Nevada (and I believe California is currently debating this) have made laws requiring drug companies to provide “pedigree” data for all drug shipments, meaning where it was shipped from/to, lot number, EPC, and some additional data. In the EU there are similar laws so this requirement is very real and is an opportunity for RFID companies, but it’s not so easy to just decide you are going to “do pedigree” as a product. This is why the number of companies offering pedigree apps is pretty limited, Supplyscape is the most commonly mentioned, and the biggest name in town, IBM, has devoted the bulk of their considerable weight in this technology area to pursuing pedigree apps.

The RFID Weblog: FDA Ruling to Give Boost to RFID Business: It is expected that by December RFID, drug manufacturers would be using RFID for tracking the most expensive prescriptions through the supply chain. FDA seems to have wakened up now as the number of fake drug cases has shot up.

Technorati Tags:

Comments

  • Feeds