In brief: Pharma security group plans Asia expansion

Pharma supply chain security group Rx-360 made its first steps towards expanding operations into Asia at a meeting in Shanghai, China, last month.

Rx-360 was set up in the US in 2009 to mount an organised and concerted industry response to failures in the security of the pharma ingredients supply chain, notably the 2008 adulterated heparin scandal and a series of incidents involving contaminated glycerin that have caused dozens of patient deaths.  Its membership was extended into Europe later that year.

The objective in China is to start introducing a number of the initiatives that have been set up in the US and Europe over the intervening years, including shared supplier audits designed to raise standards among suppliers whilst reducing the audit burden on raw material vendors and users alike and information sharing on suspicious activities.

Rx-360 is currently working on a number of topics relevant to supply chain security, including the development of best practices for security measures and controls, cargo theft avoidance and threat reporting, as well as discussing serialisation of medicines for traceability purposes.