A solution to the growing problem of counterfeit pharmaceuticals is to be found in transponder technology, which uses radio frequencies. In the spring Orion and Stora Enso tested pharmaceuticals packaging equipped with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. The test was unique and the outcome gave favourable signs.

In March and April Orion Pharma and Stora Enso brought pharmaceutical packaging equipped with individual tags to pharmacies in Finland and Estonia.

"The test in Europe was the first in which packaging equipped with tags could be traced through the entire delivery chain from the producer of the packaging and product to the wholesaler and retail outlet in a real commercial environment," explains Kirsi Viskari, the manager, intelligent solutions at Stora Enso.

The test yielded only good experiences and attracted widespread international attention. Positive feedback came from both pharmacies and consumers.

Product of the future

The test was a preparation for the demands of the future. The most important of these is the prevention of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, which is a growing problem worldwide, especially in the USA, China and India. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reckons that on average one in ten pharmaceuticals is counterfeit. Sales of counterfeit pharmaceuticals total more than 25 billion euros every year.

"In Finland pharmaceuticals security is at an extremely high level. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals appear mainly in products acquired on the Internet or imported in luggage from abroad. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals can also be placebos, but they, too, can also include dangerous substances, so the problem is considerable," Viskari emphasizes.

There are suggestions that, in the USA at least, the identifiability of certain pharmaceuticals will become compulsory. So far as is known, an RFID tag is used in only one product by the pharmaceuticals industry.

"We now have the capability to introduce the system at any time," says Tuula Laitinen, the communications manager at Orion.

RFID brings many benefits

Stora Enso's Pack Agent, an information system that operates with radio frequency or other equivalent identification technologies, is based on an individual tag being read from products or packaging and compared with the producer's information in order to authenticate the origin. At the same time a time stamp showing that the product or packaging had been read at a certain point in the delivery chain remains in the system.

"A tag can track a pharmaceutical, identify the product and give assurance of the genuineness. It can be used to enable the monitoring of consumer packaging at the unit level and the right trail from the producer to the retail outlet. In addition, the packaging can be identified without the tag being visible. Several packagings can be identified in one go, which brings logistical benefits," says Viskari.

The trial also tested withdrawal from the market i.e. recall. In the pharmaceuticals industry a recall is made either because a product batch is deficient in terms of quality, or it is counterfeit or, in the worst-case scenario, the harmful effects of the product are so great that the pharmaceutical must be withdrawn from sale.

"In the test it was possible to collect the products marked 'faulty' out of sales extremely cost-effectively and in a short time," Laitinen confirms.

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In Orion Pharma and Stora Enso's test an individual RFID tag was attached to each pharmaceutical packaging.