Pharma makers secure full chain of custody using Acsis track & trace

It's one thing to track drugs moving through production; following them throughout the supply chain is the bigger headache—and one for which there is no magic pill.

“As an industry, pharmaceutical manufacturers are taking steps to quickly respond to evolving patient safety requirements,” says Andre Pino, chief marketing officer at Acsis, a track & trace solutions supplier. “There's a trend for these companies to look for a full chain of custody so they also know—and can document—who the shipper is, where a shipment is going, and what items are in the shipment.”

To fulfill that need, Acsis recently released PharmaTrak 2.0, a preconfigured serialized track & trace solution developed specifically for pharmaceutical manufacturers, co-manufacturers, and distributors.

“Essentially what PharmaTrak 2.0 does is allow users to track activity from warehousing and distribution to the point of patient dispensation,” says Pino. “That's accomplished because it serializes, automates, and tracks intra- and inter-enterprise movement and storage of finished goods using serialized bar codes and RFID tag labeling.”

Pino says management of serialized drug products in warehouse and distribution centers supports an organization's ability to generate electronic-pedigree documents; automate product movement; and support track, trace, and product authentication through the supply chain.

“The pharmaceutical industry is at a very early stage in conforming to patient safety regulations, and there are still many standards and questions to be resolved,” says Ann Grackin, managing director for global risk intelligence supply chain consulting at New York-based strategic risk advisor Marsh. “What Acsis has done with PharmaTrak 2.0 is give the industry a serialized distribution solution that enables companies to quickly become compliant with government regulations, and delivers the scalability and flexibility companies need to easily incorporate emerging standards and requirements.”

There are two main factors driving acceptance of the solution, which already is being used by well-known pharmaceutical companies, Pino says. The first is support for industry best practices, and the second is the solution's integration with SAP enterprise solutions.

Acsis Chief Market Officer Andre Pino says two main factors are driving acceptance of the Acsis PharmaTrak 2.0 solution: 1) support for industry best practices; and 2) integration with SAP enterprise solutions.

“By being an SAP partner, our solution is tightly integrated with theirs, which offers significant value for customers,” Pino says. “Pharmaceutical manufacturers want to take full advantage of their existing SAP solution and infrastructure. Integration with the SAP environment enables manufacturers to gain functionality while also leveraging their investment in SAP components.”