Anti-counterfeit technology news in brief

Product and technology updates from PharmaSecure, Selinko, AlpVision, Applied DNA Sciences and Qual'ID Solutions.

PharmaSecure has launched a software suite to help pharmaceutical companies comply with the serialization requirements announced a year ago in China as part of the country's update to Good Supply Practice (GSP) for medicines. The changes envisage the introduction of a track-and-trace system for drugs that rolls out over a three-year period from 2013. Under the new mandate the China National Drug Code (NDC) plus a 9-digit serial number must be printed on primary and secondary packages for all pharmaceuticals by 2015.

Luxury leather goods company Delage will start protecting its products with anti-counterfeit technology developed by Belgium's Selinko later this year. The products will carry a tamperproof, encrypted chip that can be scanned with a near-field communication (NFC) enabled cell phone to deliver a verdict on their authenticity. Delage will also use the technology to deliver certain marketing services to its customers, according to a press statement. Selinko - which was formed in 2012 - recently signed agreements to use its NFC chips to secure wines produced by winemakers Buccella and Château Le Pin.

AlpVision's iPhone app - used alongside its Fingerprint technology for authenticating moulded or die stamped components - can now be used for on-the-spot authentication of even smaller items, according to the company. Originally the technology needed an image of at least 20mm x 20mm for authentication, but by changing the algorithms and imaging processing the app can now be used with clip-on macro lenses that boost the iPhone's magnifying power. "This enables [it] to authenticate areas almost 10 times smaller and opens our solution to an even wider field of applications including for instance luxury watches," says AlpVision.

Wool supplier H. Dawson Wool has reached an agreement to use Applied DNA Sciences' SigNature anti-counterfeiting technology to mark and authenticate loose wool fibre products. The DNA-marking system will be used to protect wool fibres destined for use in high-value items such as carpets and designer apparel. Since wool production tends to be fragmented and far-flung, the supplier and aggregator can serve as an "effective, centralised site" for DNA marking. "As DNA-marked textiles proliferate throughout the world supply system, more and more retailers, distributors, and others are able to authenticate these marked items, and assure their customers of their identity and authenticity," commented ADNAS' chief executive Dr James Hayward.

Bordeaux winemaker Duclot has turned to local authentication technology firm Qual'ID Solutions to protect a boxed collection of nine top-tier wines using NFC chips that can be read using a smartphone. The case - which includes grands-crus from Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, Cheval Blanc, Petrus, Yquem - sells for around $5,000 through prestige distributors.  It is estimated that counterfeits accounted for around 20 per cent of the global market for wine in 2012.