Security: You Either Get It or You Don’t
Label printers must partner with their customers regarding counterfeiting and diversion issues.
November 2006 by Chris Mc Loone
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Converters that print labels for pharmaceutical applications can look forward to long, prosperous, and booming businesses if they stay on top of the prevailing issue in pharmaceutical labeling today—security.
“Security has been a hot topic of discussion in the pharmaceutical industry for a few years now,” says Robert Ryckman, vice president of sales and marketing, CCL Label Healthcare Group NA. “Many reported cases of counterfeit and diversion are well documented and that will continue. There is a slow, steady movement toward adding security features to the packaging within the industry.”
Counterfeiting and diverting continue to challenge pharmaceutical manufacturers to come up with new and better ways to avoid each problem. “When you look at some of the blockbuster drugs that are coming on the market, drug companies are expecting $1 billion plus in revenues,” says Tom Jay, VP, sales and marketing of SICPA. “They don’t want to see it counterfeited. They don’t want to see it diverted.” According to Jay, to avoid counterfeiting and diverting, drug companies begin planning early for the security design of the labels and packaging.
What this means is that converters will be expected to know more about their customers’ needs regarding counterfeiting and diversion, understand each of the technologies available, and know which technology best suits the needs of the customer. “In my opinion, it is probably best for a label converter to partner with a security technology company to integrate a system on their customers’ behalf,” says Jay. “We are an R&D-driven company that comes up with anti-counterfeiting and anti-diversion products. Printers don’t have the resources to do that, so they need to partner with the right companies to gain access to that technology and learn how to use it.”
Establishing pedigree
Some states now mandate that there be “e-pedigrees” that accompany drug shipments. Establishing an e-pedigree helps drug distributors provide an “e-trail” versus a paper trail to establish a drug’s origin, where it is going, and where it is sold.
Establishing pedigree requires that converters be aware of their customers’ needs regarding security labeling and how to meet those needs.
SICPA’s product security division offers a host of products, including a track-and-trace system. This system involves working with the brand owner to provide a mass serialization of product on individual labels. This information is contained within a covert bar code. “It can track the path of that label attached to that bottle that gets sold to a distributor and then through the retailer,” says Jay. “So the system can track that bottle of drugs all the way through the system.” According to Jay, the primary benefit to retailers is that they can pull bottles from their shelves, scan them, and be able to show the paths the drugs took to arrive at their locations.
“Security has been a hot topic of discussion in the pharmaceutical industry for a few years now,” says Robert Ryckman, vice president of sales and marketing, CCL Label Healthcare Group NA. “Many reported cases of counterfeit and diversion are well documented and that will continue. There is a slow, steady movement toward adding security features to the packaging within the industry.”
Counterfeiting and diverting continue to challenge pharmaceutical manufacturers to come up with new and better ways to avoid each problem. “When you look at some of the blockbuster drugs that are coming on the market, drug companies are expecting $1 billion plus in revenues,” says Tom Jay, VP, sales and marketing of SICPA. “They don’t want to see it counterfeited. They don’t want to see it diverted.” According to Jay, to avoid counterfeiting and diverting, drug companies begin planning early for the security design of the labels and packaging.
What this means is that converters will be expected to know more about their customers’ needs regarding counterfeiting and diversion, understand each of the technologies available, and know which technology best suits the needs of the customer. “In my opinion, it is probably best for a label converter to partner with a security technology company to integrate a system on their customers’ behalf,” says Jay. “We are an R&D-driven company that comes up with anti-counterfeiting and anti-diversion products. Printers don’t have the resources to do that, so they need to partner with the right companies to gain access to that technology and learn how to use it.”
Establishing pedigree
Some states now mandate that there be “e-pedigrees” that accompany drug shipments. Establishing an e-pedigree helps drug distributors provide an “e-trail” versus a paper trail to establish a drug’s origin, where it is going, and where it is sold.
Establishing pedigree requires that converters be aware of their customers’ needs regarding security labeling and how to meet those needs.
SICPA’s product security division offers a host of products, including a track-and-trace system. This system involves working with the brand owner to provide a mass serialization of product on individual labels. This information is contained within a covert bar code. “It can track the path of that label attached to that bottle that gets sold to a distributor and then through the retailer,” says Jay. “So the system can track that bottle of drugs all the way through the system.” According to Jay, the primary benefit to retailers is that they can pull bottles from their shelves, scan them, and be able to show the paths the drugs took to arrive at their locations.
Companies Mentioned:
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Package Printing, Second Edition
Chemistry for the Graphic Arts
What the Printer Should Know About Paper