Pfizer deploys multiple-level RFID tagging to combat drug counterfeits

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is using RFID to stymie the burgeoning market for its most counterfeited drug, Viagra. The company also hopes the technology will aid compliance with upcoming government requirements to prevent counterfeiting of all pharmaceuticals.

"We are very aware that the Food & Drug Administration [FDA] has told the industry it needs to address counterfeiting," says Peggy Staver, Pfizer's director of trade product integrity. "We know technology is not the only solution, but the FDA has encouraged adoption of track-and-trace [as a possible solution] by 2007."

Every bottle of Viagra that comes off Pfizer's production line now has an RFID tag containing an electronic product code (EPC)—but no other product or patient information—embedded in its label. In this case, the term "bottle" refers to the large container(s) that go to the pharmacy, not the small amber bottles dispensed to the customer. Tags also are applied to the cases and pallets of the drug so the product can be authenticated at warehouses or distribution centers.

Pfizer's supply chain partners are not required to do anything with the RFID tags, but Staver says they can purchase hardware and software that would allow them to check the EPC codes on the bottles against Pfizer's database to confirm they've received genuine Viagra.

Staver says tagging the product at three locations is a way of giving all supply chain partners the option of verifying shipments.

"Most of our supply chain has not invested in the RFID infrastructure yet," she says. "They're just getting started. We found that many in the wholesale and retail distribution centers were interested in gaining experience as well, so rather than focus on just the end point, we developed authentication at the case and pallet level."