The Food and Drug Administration and three pharmaceutical companies today announced an initiative to combat drug counterfeiting and fraud by putting radio frequency identification technology on the labels of drug bottles.
This action continues the FDA’s commitment to promote the use of RFID technology by the U.S. drug supply chain by 2007.
The first drugs to get tagged with RFID technology are Viagra, because it is one of the most recognizable and counterfeited drugs in the United States, and OxyContin, which is a controlled painkiller that has been subject to abuse as well as theft and diversion.
RFID incorporates the use of small radio frequency tags on product packaging that can be electronically scanned to authenticate and track products as they move through the supply chain. It is similar to the technology used for tollbooth and fuel purchasing passes.
Pfizer said it plans to put RFID tags on all bottles of Viagra intended for sale in the United States by the end of next year. GlaxoSmithKline said that it intends to begin using RFID tags in the next 12 to 18 months on at least one product deemed susceptible to counterfeiting. Purdue Pharma said that it will put RFID tags on bottles of OxyContin to make it easier to authenticate as well as track and trace the painkiller. In addition, Purdue said it plans to put tag bottles of Palladone, a newly approved product to treat persistent, moderate to severe pain.
“Radio Frequency Identification technology is an innovative response to the challenge of counterfeit drugs,” Health and Human Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. “It is our goal to insure that the drugs available in the United States are among the safest in the world. However, we still must continue to be on guard against those who would exploit patients by selling counterfeit drugs.”
Monday’s actions are key steps in implementing a major recommendation of FDA’s report, issued February 18, 2004, titled “Combating Counterfeit Drugs.” The report recommended that RFID technology be in widespread use throughout the pharmaceutical industry by 2007.
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