SupplyScape and Unisys Pilot Pharmaceutical Industry's First Electronic Pedigree System for Commercial Drugs; Companies Combat Drug Counterfeiting with Electronic Tracking System.BLUE BELL, Pa. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Unisys Corporation (company) Unisys Corporation - The company formed in 1984-5 when Burroughs Corporation merged with Sperry Corporation. This was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :UIS (graphics, programming) UIS - A VMS graphics programming interface package for VAXstations. ) and SupplyScape Corporation today announced an innovative pilot, which will be the first step to help secure the flow of prescription medicines from factory to pharmacy counter. The companies anticipate that the project will lead to the establishment of a national standard tracking system, which could help increase consumer safety and stem pharmaceutical companies' growing losses from fraud. The pilot project is the pharmaceutical industry's first electronic drug pedigree, which is a certificate of authenticity A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is a seal or small sticker on a proprietary computer program, t-shirt, jersey, or any other memorabilia item, especially in the world of computers and sports, which is designed to demonstrate that the item is authentic. detailing a drug's movement through the supply chain. It will track the distribution of one of Purdue Pharma Purdue Pharma L.P., is privately-held pharmaceutical company founded by physicians. It is located in Stamford, Connecticut. Purdue is best known for painkillers, but they have also branched into other areas such as oncology and nutraceuticals. L.P.'s analgesic analgesic (ăn'əljē`zĭk), any of a diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain. Analgesic drugs include the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the salicylates, narcotic drugs such as morphine, and synthetic drugs products from the manufacturing facility to the seventh largest wholesaler in the U.S., H. D. Smith. Using a universal electronic pedigree model, the system is designed to help reduce the risk of counterfeit medicines being introduced into the legitimate supply chain. The pedigree management system is a first-of-its-kind, open system, with technology designed to certify medicines as legitimate throughout the supply chain. The system uses Radio Frequency Identification See RFID. (RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) A data collection technology that uses electronic tags for storing data. The tag, also known as an "electronic label," "transponder" or "code plate," is made up of an RFID chip attached to an antenna. ) or barcodes to match each medication container with its corresponding pedigree. Without the pedigree, it is difficult to determine where a drug has been and if it is authentic. "An electronic drug pedigree further serves our primary goal of patient safety by enhancing both authentication (1) Verifying the integrity of a transmitted message. See message integrity, e-mail authentication and MAC. (2) Verifying the identity of a user logging into a network. and diversion control of prescription medications from the manufacturer through the wholesale distribution chain," said Aaron Graham, Purdue's vice president and chief security officer. "By partnering with H. D. Smith in this pilot protocol, we hope to create a model that the industry can follow." Purdue has been one of the most vigilant pharmaceutical companies in the fight against counterfeiting and diversion. In November 2004, the company became one of the first to provide fully integrated, anti-counterfeiting packaging designed to protect prescription pain medicine against counterfeiting and diversion by launching a pilot program to integrate RFID tags An electronic identification device that is made up of a chip and antenna. For reusable applications, it is typically embedded in a plastic housing, and for tracking shipments, it is usually part of a "smart" packaging label. into its product labeling. Initial shipments of the RFID-tagged bottles were sent to Wal-Mart and H. D. Smith. "This pedigree project is a secure supply chain reference implementation for the industry," said Chuck Nardi, information officer of commercial systems, Purdue Pharma. "We chose to work with SupplyScape and Unisys because we believe they are leaders in electronic pedigree technology and related integration services, which will be instrumental in setting the standard for our industry and others." "This is truly a seminal moment in the fight against counterfeit drugs counterfeit drug Pharmacology A formulation sold or marketed as if it were a particular proprietary substance produced by a particular manufacturer with specified ingredients, which it may or may not, in fact, contain. See Generic drug, Proprietary drug. ," said Robert E. Kashmer, Jr., vice president, information technology, H. D. Smith. The pilot, which is being supported by Intel Corporation (company) Intel Corporation - A US microelectronics manufacturer. They produced the Intel 4004, Intel 8080, Intel 8086, Intel 80186, Intel 80286, Intel 80386, Intel 486 and Pentium microprocessor families as well as many other integrated circuits and personal computer networking , will track drug distribution. Using self-authenticating pedigrees, Purdue and H. D. Smith will authenticate (1) To verify (guarantee) the identity of a person or company. To ensure that the individual or organization is really who it says it is. See authentication and digital certificate. (2) To verify (guarantee) that data has not been altered. , certify and verify a positive match between drug and pedigrees. "By next year, laws in several states will dictate that all drugs must have pedigrees, but until now companies have been unclear exactly how to comply," said Shabbir Dahod, president, SupplyScape. "With our system ready to go, customers have asked us to help accelerate their electronic pedigree deployments." H. D. Smith, a wholesale distributor also on the vanguard of developing safe and secure supply chains, underscored the urgency to roll out working pedigree solutions. "At H. D. Smith, we believe maximizing patient safety is important," said Robert E. Kashmer, Jr., vice president, information technology, H. D. Smith. "This e-pedigree project with Purdue, Unisys and SupplyScape is our first step toward pedigree compliance when we open our Florida distribution center later this year." According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Unisys, which will serve as the implementation service provider for the pilot, the test should pave the way for national adoption of pedigree systems for all drugs. Unisys is hosting the pilot on its ES7000, an enterprise-class platform based on Intel's(R) Xeon(TM) processor. The Intel-based platform will offer efficient management of the large amount of data generated by the RFID tracking system. "Pharmaceutical companies are looking to institute standards that safeguard consumers from the growing threat of counterfeit drugs," said Todd Skrinar, partner, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Unisys. "The implementation of an electronic pedigree system can help Purdue increase consumer safety. The system will also provide greater visibility into Purdue and H. D. Smith's supply chains, which is expected to result in increased efficiencies for both companies." About SupplyScape SupplyScape provides electronic pedigree software and expertise to safeguard and secure the pharmaceutical supply chain. A leader in defining a universal standards-based electronic pedigree solution for the pharmaceutical industry, the company's executives help manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and pharmacies derive sustainable business A business is sustainable if it has adapted its practices for the use of renewable resources and holds itself accountable for the environmental and human rights impacts of its activities. value from their investments in electronic pedigree and supply chain security. For more information, visit www.supplyscape.com. About Unisys Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. Our people combine expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure and server technology with precision thinking and relentless execution to help clients, in more than 100 countries, quickly and efficiently achieve competitive advantage. For more information, visit www.unisys.com. About Purdue Pharma L.P. Purdue Pharma L.P. and its independent, associated U.S. companies are privately held pharmaceutical companies known for pioneering research on persistent pain. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Purdue is engaged in the research, development, production, and distribution of both prescription and over-the-counter medicines and hospital products. Additional information about Purdue can be found at www.purduepharma.com. About H. D. Smith Headquartered in Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. As reported in the 2000 U.S. Census, the city was home to 111,454 people. The land on which Springfield is today was first settled in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a , H. D. Smith is the largest privately held national full-service wholesale distributor that provides a complete line of pharmaceuticals, OTCs, HBAs, surgical supplies, seasonal merchandise and a wide array of marketing programs to retail, hospital and institutional pharmacies. The company has five distribution facilities in California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas that service major markets in the west, mid-west, southwestern and northeastern United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , and will soon open a sixth distribution center located in southern Florida that is expected to be fully operational in early 2005. For more information, visit www.hdsmith.com RELEASE NO: 0531/8546 http://www.unisys.com/about__unisys/news_a_events/05318546.htm Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. |
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