Counterfeit issues:  Tracking solutions

Many pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, and indeed governments, believe the solution to this problem lies in the use of product serialisation and traceability. As a result regulatory bodies including the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), IFAH (International Federation for Animal Health), EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations) and others in many countries have set stringent standards that will help combat the problems of counterfeiting.

Serialisation requires a comprehensive range of products, systems and expertise to enable tracking and traceability of drug products throughout the supply chain. Each product has to be identified by a unique serial number, in addition to other information relating to its origin, shelf life, batch number, and so on. This data makes it possible to track the product from production, through distribution and finally to the point where the drug may be dispensed. 

Information may need to be printed directly on to packaging or printed to a label, which is then applied to the product. Irrespective of the process, any marking, labelling or print and apply systems used within a track & trace environment must be inherently accurate and function repeatably and reliably. Text and codes must be legible when being checked visually by human or automatically scanned. 

RFID technology

Weber, for example, is able to ensure traceability from the point of production, through packaging and palletising. Within a pharmaceutical environment, the process begins with the product and serialisation information being coded directly to the primary packaging which can be in the form of a blister pack, plastic container or box. This can be achieved using Weber’s thermal inkjet systems such as the iJet, Compactline 2.5 and Cube which represent just three of the marking systems that meet the pharmaceutical industry’s challenging demands on printing, speed and reliability. 

The use of RFID technology however, is growing at a pace within the pharmaceutical industry as it offers benefits when it comes to product identification, tracking and traceability. Weber’s special smart label printers and printer-applicators, such as the Model 5300rfid, encode data on ultra-thin RFID inlays, embedded within labels and tags, whilst simultaneously printing text, bar codes and graphics. As a smart label is printed, the Model 5300rfid’s integrated encoder simultaneously transfers digital information to the thin, ultra-high frequency (UHF) transponder embedded in the pressure-sensitive label material.

Encoded information is instantly verified before the system applies the smart label to the top or side of a carton as it moves along the production line. Labels are applied using the non-contact, tamp-blow method, which gently blows the label onto the surface from a distance of 6mm; placement is accurate to within 1.5mm. Model 5300rfid also provides XML-enabled printing to permit direct smart label printing and encoding from leading ERP applications. RFID technology offers a number of advantages, including the fact that the tag or label does not necessarily need to be in direct line of sight of the reader, this allows greater flexibility in the choice of label placement and can reduce the time taken to find and scan labels, especially manually.

At the end of the production process, palletised and wrapped product has a final label applied using Weber’s new Legi-Air 4050 P, which enables labelling of two adjacent sides of a pallet. Just prior to dispensing, variable data including weights and barcodes are printed on the labels. An optional integrated scanning system allows a final check of content and legibility of the labels as they are being printed and before application.

Weber can incorporate a range of 1 and 2D barcode and RFID scanning systems from technology partners, Datalogic and Motorola. Used in conjunction with Weber printer and print apply systems at the various stages of production and packing, this range of scanners and terminals allow complete data acquisition and verification solutions to be configured for a diverse range of applications within the pharmaceutical industry.

Weber Packaging Solutions offer a range of hardware, software, materials and expertise to meet the exacting coding and labelling standards required by the pharmaceutical industry. The company's integrated labelling solutions are engineered for clean, precise product identification and traceability. Many pharmaceutical companies are using the technology, with each solution precision engineered to address a specific application, yet flexible enough to fit seamlessly into existing production lines.