Track-and-trace tech to help Biogen-Idec meet CA ePedigree law
-- Converting Magazine, 2/5/2008
Pharmaceutical contract manufacturer and packager Catalent Pharma Solutions partners with Secure Symbology to use track-and-track serialization technology for the packaging of Biogen Idec biotechnology products. Successful implementation will make Biogen Idec fully compliant with mandates outlined in California's ePedigree law, Catalent says.Adopted to try to prevent counterfeit drugs from entering the legitimate supply chain, the ePedigree law requires that all medications sold in the state of California as of January 2009 have a unique, serial identifier that can be electronically read for the purposes of authentication. To meet this requirement, manufacturers must add technologies such as 2-D barcodes or RFID to their packaging. Track-and-trace allows pharmaceutical, biologic and OTC medications to be electronically traced to their point of origin to ensure that each unit sold is authentic. Packaging for Biogen Idec's drugs, which treat patients with multiple sclerosis, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis, will use serialized 2-D barcodes from Catalent's Philadelphia facility.
Says Robert A. Hamm, Biogen Idec executive vp, Pharmaceutical Operations & Technology, “In addition to meeting California requirements, 2-D barcode technology will prepare us for other states and countries enacting similar laws."
“Catalent is the only contract-packaging company that has conducted an end-to-end pilot of RFID from the factory floor to the pharmacy, as well as a factory-focused pilot on serialized barcodes," adds Renard Jackson, executive vp/gm, Packaging Services, Catalent Pharma Solutions. “Helping biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies incorporate a secure and effective track-and trace technology within a few short months is critical, since the deadline for compliance is less than a year away."
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