Covectra targets outsourcing firms with serialisation gateway

Supply chain security technology company Covectra has developed a platform to help contract manufacturers and packagers deal with the emerging demand of the pharmaceutical industry for serialisation of its products.

Serialisation is a challenge even within a pharmaceutical organisation, and this is exacerbated when pharmaceutical manufacturers have to allocate and monitor serial numbers across their outsourcing partners.

Meanwhile, for contractors serialisation adds additional complexity to the already challenging task of managing the varying requirements of their customers.

"This new offering allows contract service providers the opportunity to be competitive in the field. It's increasingly important, with the pending domestic and international requirements for serialisation," says Steve Wood, Covectra's president and CEO.

Next month, for example, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is holding a public meeting to discuss potential approaches to a system for identifying, authenticating and tracking/tracing prescription drug packages to help secure the supply chain against counterfeits and other substandard drugs.

The Contract Service Providers Serialisation Gateway - part of Covectra's AuthentiTrack suite of serialisation, authentication and track-and-trace technologies - includes a public-facing electronic product code information service (EPCIS) which "facilitates the exchange of serialisation and event data across the CSP network," according to Covectra.

The system can generate, send and receive serial identification numbers to and from multiple actors in the supply chain, manage and update supplier information, generate audit reports and trails and maintain real-time serial number inventory status across the network, it says.

Covectra also maintains that the system can link a CSP with multiple brand owners - without compromising the security of the brand owner's own EPCIS - and allows the outsourcing company to serialise selective products for customers who may not already have a mass serialisation programme in place.

Meanwhile, in addition to packaging line serialisation, the system can also be extended to provide other functions such as treatment adherence, returns verification and patient communication programmes to build brand loyalty.

That can open up new revenue streams and help CSPs expand their market share, according to Wood.


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