The companies hope the project will lead to the creation of a national standard platform that will help secure the flow of prescription medicines from factory to pharmacy counter and help prevent counterfeit medicines being introduced into the legitimate supply chain.
The pilot project will track the distribution of one of Purdue Pharma’s analgesic products from the manufacturing facility to US wholesaler H D Smith. The system will use a universal electronic pedigree model that certifies each medicine using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology or barcodes as they pass through the manufacturing process.
“An electronic drug pedigree further serves our primary goal of patient safety by enhancing both authentication and diversion control of prescription medications from the manufacturer through the wholesale distribution chain,” said Aaron Graham, Purdue’s vice president. “By partnering with H D Smith in this pilot protocol, we hope to create a model that the industry can follow.”