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Viagra and Oxycontin tagged, but future still uncertain for RFID in pharma

Tuesday, March 21, 2006


Robert Malone, Editor of Inbound Logistics magazine, recently commented that, “it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discover that pharmaceuticals are a prime candidate for the use of RFID in our new era of high security.”

In recent months, there have been significant developments in the pharmaceutical marketspace, as both Pfizer and Purdue Pharma have announced significant RFID-labeling programs for two of their most sought after – both legally and illegally – drug products. Pfizer has announced that by the end of the first quarter of 2006, all shipments of Viagra, the lifestyle drug for erectile dysfunction, will carry RFID tags. Likewise, the privately-held Purdue Pharma has green-lighted a significant pilot program to apply smart labels to all shipments of OxyContin, a narcotic pain-killer.

There are 1019 words in the rest of this article …

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Aethon announced recently that it’s automated tracking and chain-of-custody system - MedEx - is now operational at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The MedEx System serves as enhancement to the TUG robot, also developed by Aethon, and allows hospital pharmacies to know the real-time location and status of medications throughout the facility. Combining passive RFID technology and biometrics capabilities built into the TUG secure carts, MedEx automatically creates an electronic chain-of-custody receipt including the person, location, and date/time indicating when an item is placed in and removed from the TUG.

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