Pfizer to review investment in radio tagging system for Viagra

Pfizer is to review the RFID radio frequency identification system used to protect Viagra (sildenafil) against counterfeits, according to a Pfizer France supplies director, even though the company does not believe there are any major problems with the system.

Jean-Paul Adam, supplies director at Pfizer's factory in Amboise in western France, told APM Health Europe: "We will be reviewing the results obtained with this technology during the summer. Depending on the conclusions of this review, we will see if we are going to continue to invest in RFID or not."

The first year's use of Viagra's traceability system cost a total of US$5m. "Viagra is the most widely copied medicine in the world. It was normal to try and protect it," said Adam.

Pfizer has been tagging US-bound boxes of Viagra with the electronic system and the older Data-Matrix system, invented by Acuity CiMatrix, since January. "We use both as most pharmacists don't have RFID readers," Adam explained.

RFID comprises an electronic microchip attached to an antenna, displayed on the label of each package, carrying a specific and unique number. By radio activation of the antenna, this number can be read remotely and extremely quickly.

Data-Matrix uses a two dimensional code which is read by a camera and transformed into digital code. Unlike RFID, Data-Matrix does not allow several packages to be read at the same time and would be easier to copy, according to RFIDEA, a company which specialises in traceability.

News of the review follows last month's comments by Alain Roudergues, a member of the European Association of Pharmaceutical Full-Line Wholesalers (GIRP)'s technical committee, that RFID was currently "unusable" by wholesalers.

Tests carried out by a wholesalers group, CERP, in Rouen, found problems with RFID. It tested the high-frequency RFID (13.56 MHz) and found that physical limitations distorted the reading of the microchips. Apparently the electromagnetic waves emitted by RFID were affected by the presence of metal and were absorbed by water and glass - three materials are frequently used in pharma packaging. "Viagra pill bottles do not contain any of these materials, so we have not encountered these problems," said Adam.

But GIRP considers that this technology is not suitable for wholesalers, who put several different kinds of packages together in a single box.

David Della-Vecchia, director of RFIDEA, questioned the test results. "At a frequency of 13.56 MHz, the waves can go through liquid. As for metal, reading a microchip on a metallic surface isn't a problem, although at this frequency, the waves can't go through the metal," he said.

"RFID is not a ready-made solution, suitable for all situations. You have to choose the right components, the right reader, the right software for each product," he stressed.

Gerard Manrique, head of the life sciences and health innovation unit at IBM France, which provides software and technology to speed up the adoption of RFID, put the problems down to environmental issues. "The technique works perfectly, but radio frequencies can be disrupted, exactly like those of a mobile phone," he told APM.

Manrique says that RFID has numerous advantages in the fight against counterfeiting. "A barcode can be printed by any old printer, but it's much more difficult to make fake RFID. And even if someone could, you would notice that the medicines delivered don't have the same serial numbers, just like with fake banknotes."

He added that RFID's ultimate advantage was that it would allow products to be controlled continuously, remotely and without human intervention.

GS1 France, an organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of European Article Numbering (EAN) standards, has been carrying out tests on RFID since 2005. "We now have a real point of comparison and we have seen a dramatic improvement in results between 2005 and 2006," GS1 technical consultant Stephane Cren said.

Roudergues is also concerned about potential effects of waves on the medicines themselves. "In the US, the FDA raised questions about ultra-high frequencies, which could heat liquids. This seems physically logical and is quite worrying," he said. He added that GIRP will, however "continue tests" on this technology which is "very interesting."