Genetic Engineering News Reports on Efforts to Foil Counterfeit Drugs.

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Biotech and pharmaceutical firms are becoming increasingly worried over the issue of counterfeit drugs, reports Genetic Engineering News (GEN) (www.genengnews.com). Their concerns are being fueled by higher threat levels, the value of the products involved, and the number of counterfeit drugs being produced, according to an article in the November 1 issue of GEN.

"Counterfeit drug manufacturers have moved beyond the mom-and-pop operational stage. They have become quite organized and sophisticated and can get look-alike products on the market pretty quickly," says John Sterling, Editor-in-Chief of GEN.

For example, an official at the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute tells of a company devoting 18 months to developing a blister pack with a hologram, only to find it duplicated within six months.

One popular anti-counterfeiting method is radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The technique, which involves serial codes with sequential numbers, recorded so that a certain sequence is shipped to a particular customer at a given time, can be effective.

To stay one step ahead, pharmaceutical and packaging experts recommend a multi-layered "belts and braces" approach that layers overt and covert deterrents with forensic features as well. Next spring, 3M Security Solutions (NYSE:MMM) is releasing 3M[TM] CONFIRM[TM], which features a floating image that moves above, below, or through the designated path.

NanoInk focuses on Nanoencryption[TM] technology for the pharmaceutical industry. The approach incorporates semi-overt, covert, and nanoscale forensic features at the unit-dose level, which also can be linked to the package level for a multilayered protective shield.

Other companies covered in the GEN article include All Packaging Company, Axway, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Purdue Pharma, SupplyScape, Tagsys RFID, and West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST).

For a copy of the November 1 issue of GEN, please call [phone], or email: [e-mail].

Genetic Engineering News (www.genengnews.com), which is published 21 times a year by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is the most widely read biotechnology news magazine worldwide. It includes articles on Drug Discovery, Bioprocessing, Omics, and Translational Medicine and covers applied research through commercialization and the business of biotechnology.