Authentix partners with AstraZeneca to protect drug supply through unique coding

US authentication solutions specialist Authentix is working with AstraZeneca, to protect the integrity of the legitimate supply chain with the rollout of unit-level serialised tamper evident security seals (TESS) combined with unique carton numbers (UCN).

When the Serialised Authentication Programme is launched in the second quarter of 2007, AstraZeneca will become one of the first pharmaceutical companies to implement a comprehensive system to serialise and authenticate its pharmaceutical products down to the unit-level.

The Serialised Authentication Programme for Nexium assigns unique serialised codes to each tablet blisterpack via the carton and the associated tamper evident seal. Once a serialised code is assigned, it is activated, validated and entered into a database where it can be cross-checked against all serialised codes throughout the AstraZeneca supply chain.

In November 2006, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) endorsed serialisation as the most promising solution to fight counterfeiting and illegal diversion threats in Europe and globally. The organisation maintains that serialisation offers greater security, enhances tracking, and will work easily with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies when RFID matures.

'The Serialised Authentication Programme gives AstraZeneca the potential to monitor our supply chain. Furthermore, working with other pharma companies, industry bodies and government agencies, the system will eventually help facilitate the identification or verification of products across the entire supply chain, from the point of manufacture to the point of dispensing,' said David Teale, director of product security, AstraZeneca. 'In addition, the programme can be combined with other brand protection requirements for field authentication and tamper evidence.'

AstraZeneca's introduction of unique coding on individual packets of Nexium (esomeprazole) comes after fakes of the UK company's most important drug were found in the European supply chain. Nexium was chosen as first for the new security measures following a risk assessment exercise. Also found to be at higher risk were Seroquel SR (quetiapine), the group's number two drug, and Losec (omeprazole).

Use of the new measures for these two are planned to roll out in China, a particularly problematic market, in 2007. Other drugs and markets are set to follow.

The Serialised Authentication Programme is the result of several years of collaborative work between Authentix and AstraZeneca, which has resulted in a number of diverse regional authentication and serialisation solutions.

'By becoming one of the first pharmaceutical companies to employ large-scale mass serialisation, AstraZeneca is leading the way,' added Jim Rittenburg, vice president of healthcare and life sciences, Authentix. 'AstraZeneca is showing patients that they are committed to being at the forefront of the fight against pharmaceutical counterfeiting.'