Combating Counterfeit Medicines: Siemens Starts Joint Pilot Medicines Coding
Project with EFPIA in Sweden
NORWALK, Conn., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- This incidence of counterfeit
prescription medicines in Europe's traditional supply chain is growing. This
is why EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and
Associations) has launched a pilot project that includes the testing of a
coding and identification solution in Sweden. Siemens IT Solutions and
Services is supplying the information and communications technology (ICT).
This solution enables counterfeit products to be reliably identified at all
times and monitors the progress of medicines throughout the complete supply
chain. The project is being carried out in partnership with the retail
pharmacy chain Apoteket AB and local wholesalers Tamro and KD.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )
Up to now, pharmacists were reliant on visual checks to make sure that
medicines were not counterfeit before dispensing to patients. But these days
will soon be over. In the EFPIA's new coding and identification solution,
pharmacists will check a unique identification code on each individual pack
before it is dispensed to the patient. This 2D data matrix barcode, with a
unique serial number, can be easily generated and printed on the packaging by
the manufacturer. Scanners are used to read the code and pass it to a
verification system that checks that the pack with that serial number has not
been dispensed before. If it is already marked in the database as dispensed,
the pharmacist is made aware of the possibility that the pack may be
counterfeit, and numbers are found when scanning the packs, an alert is
triggered. Pharmacy staff can then take the necessary precautions and
immediately trigger an investigation.
In the EFPIA pilot project, Siemens IT Solutions and Services is the general
contractor in cooperation with Hewlett Packard (HP) and SAP. The IT service
provider is responsible for the project management and integration of the
information interfaces between the pharmacies and the manufacturers. Siemens
IT Solutions and Services is also responsible for operating and maintaining
the IT infrastructure, including the technology and information systems, data
integration, system security and system development. SAP Belgium will be in
charge of the SAP® object event repository (SAP OER) and the implementation
services. Hewlett Packard (HP) will provide hosting services and SAP solutions
testing.
The aim is to introduce a standardized coding and identification solution for
the pharmaceutical sector in Europe that is compliant with existing
international and European standards. If this pilot project is successful,
EFPIA will present it to the EU authorities for replication in the other EU
countries and so create a uniform platform for key players in the European
pharmaceutical industry in the fight against counterfeit medicines.
EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations)
represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its direct
membership of 31 national associations and 44 leading pharmaceutical
companies, EFPIA is the voice on the EU scene of 2,200 companies committed to
researching, developing and bringing to patients new medicines that will
improve health and the quality of life around the world. The pharmaceutical
industry accounts for no less than 19.2% of global business R&D expenditure.
It is the sector with the highest ratio of R&D investment to net sales
(16.1%). However, between 1990 and 2008, R&D investment in the United States
grew by 460% whilst in Europe it only increased by 250%, and there is rapid
growth in the research environment in emerging economies such as China and
India. Today around 635,000 people work in this sector and it is estimated
that three to four times more employment is generated indirectly both upstream
and downstream. A significant proportion of people employed are highly skilled
and 117,000 work in research and development. The European research-based
pharmaceutical industry generates a substantial trade surplus, which was
estimated at about 48 billion euros for 2008. It has contributed significantly
to reducing the European Union's trade deficit in high-tech products - today
almost a quarter of the EU's high-tech exports are pharmaceutical products.
Siemens IT Solutions and Services is an internationally leading provider of IT
solutions and services. It covers the entire IT service chain from a single
source, from consulting to system integration, right through to the management
of IT infrastructures. In addition, Siemens IT Solutions and Services extends
the range of offerings of the other Siemens Sectors to include IT solutions.
With its comprehensive know-how and industry-specific knowledge, Siemens IT
Solutions and Services provides measurable added value for its customers.
Siemens IT Solutions and Services employs more than 41,000 people and posts
annual sales of about 5.3 billion euros, of which over 70 percent are
generated outside of the Siemens Sectors. More information at
www.siemens.com/it-solutions.
SAP is the world's leading provider of business software, offering
applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than
25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 89,000 customers
in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including
the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more
information, visit www.sap.com.
SOURCE Siemens IT Solutions and Services
Scott M. Smith, Siemens, Scott.m.smith@siemens.com, +1-678.327.9864
