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by Dave Gradijan

GlaxoSmithKline to Track HIV Meds With RFID

News
Mar 24, 20061 min
CSO and CISOData and Information Security

On Wednesday, Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline said it will use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to battle counterfeiting of an HIV medication called Triziver, the Associated Press reports via The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pa.

An RFID tag will be affixed to each individual bottle of the drug to help determine the origin of the medication and ensure it’s distributed via the appropriate channels in the United States, according to the AP.

GlaxoSmithKline said the Food and Drug Administration has requested that all pharmaceutical companies begin employing RFID tags to track medications, in an effort to battle the current epidemic of medication counterfeiting, the AP reports.

Triziver has been ranked one of the 32 most commonly counterfeited drugs by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, according to the AP.

The pharmaceutical firm worked with IBM to develop the tags it plans to use, and it said they will not collect any personal information on patients who use the medication, the AP reports.

For related CSO content, read Drug Busters and Drugmakers Testing RFID Tags.

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