RFIDs: Drug Trafficking

The makers of prescription drugs have found a new weapon to fight counterfeiters: radio frequency identification (RFID).

By Scott Berinato

March 01, 2005 — CSO — The makers of prescription drugs have found a new weapon to fight counterfeiters: radio frequency identification (RFID). Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin is now using RFID tags to track shipments of its theft-prone drug. Pfizer says it, too, will start putting the tags on bottles of widely counterfeited Viagra by the end of this year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the RFID plan a boost when it recently published guidelines to help other drugmakers get started before RFID labels become mandatory in 2007.

"With RFID, the drug industry will be able to police itself for the first time," says Aaron Graham, vice president and CSO at Purdue Pharma. The World Health Organization says approximately 7 percent to 8 percent of the world's drugs are counterfeit. RFIDs will make it virtually impossible for counterfeit drugs to enter the supply chain. Pharmacists using handheld readers will be able to quickly check whether bottles have been reported stolen.

RFIDs still don't come cheap. Purdue Pharma plans to invest $2 million in infrastructure and 30 cents to 50 cents for each RFID label. The company will also donate handheld scanners to police officers and to each FBI field office.

Read more about supply chain security in CSOonline's Supply Chain Security section.

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