TruTag appoints brand protection veteran as new president

Hawaii-based brand protection company TruTag Technologies has appointed Kent Mansfield as its new president.

Mansfield (pictured) joins TruTag after holding senior managerial positions in a range of brand protection and security companies, notably Smart Holograms and Authentix.

"Kent is an innovator in the product security and authentication industry and has been a driving force for companies that emerged as leaders in brand protection and security," commented Dr. Hank Wuh, founder and chief executive of TruTag parent SKAI Ventures.

"His experience and leadership will be a key factor in achieving TruTag's growth plans."

TruTag - formerly known as Cellular Bioengineering Inc - has developed a silicon dioxide-based marker technology that can be used to tag and identify counterfeit medicines.

The microtags are edible - with Generally Recognised As Safe (GRAS) status awarded by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - and so can be used as an on-dose authentication technology for pharmaceuticals.

Each microtag has a unique spectral signature and can be scanned using a spectrometer-based reader which can authenticate tablets even through a blister pack, according to the company.

"Counterfeiting of pharmaceutical brands is an enormous problem and continues to proliferate despite the legacy solutions deployed by brand owners and governments trying to stop it," said Mansfield.

"TruTag's covert edible silica microtags can be uniquely identified representing a game changing tool allowing brand owners to authenticate products while also providing tracking capability in the global supply chain."