Pharmaceuticals - Protecting Patients, Manufacturers and Brands

Applied DNA has developed its SigNature™ program to be easily incorporated in pharmaceutical packaging, and can even be utilized as a unit dose coating as a way to prevent counterfeiting. Our SigNature™ DNA-based technology can help secure the movement of pharmaceutical products as they travel through the drug supply chain, and essentially help to combat the problems associated with product divergence.

The pharmaceutical industry faces major problems related to counterfeit, diluted, or falsely labeled drugs that make their way through healthcare systems worldwide, posing a health threat to patients and a financial threat to drugmakers and distributors. In 2006 the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest predicted that counterfeit drug sales will reach $75 billion globally in 2010, an increase of more than 90% from 2005. In February, 2006, the World Health Organization ("WHO") estimated that counterfeits account for more than 10% of the global pharmaceuticals market, 25% of pharmaceuticals consumed in developing countries and as much as 50% in some countries, are counterfeit. According to the WHO, counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit pharmaceuticals may include products with the correct ingredients but fake packaging, with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients or with insufficient active ingredients.

With counterfeit and diverted pharmaceuticals making their way into markets worldwide, it is critical to implement new technologies to better protect the global drug supply. DNA covert authentication technologies can be incorporated into RFIDs, barcodes, holograms and other security taggants. The FDA has acknowledged the importance of using one or more authentication technologies for drug products, in particular those branded pharmaceuticals that are most likely to be counterfeited. A SigNature™ DNA-based system presents a unique opportunity to definitively identify and authenticate these products and help in the fight against counterfeit drugs.

For more information about how SigNature™ can help to protect your pharmaceutical brand, logo and/or security system, please click here.