The pharmaceutical industry is proving the ideal launch pad for RFID. Large corporate budgets and a genuine need for a cheap, reliable alternative to barcodes bodes well for quick implementation.
How successful will printed RFID be in the pharmaceutical industry?
The pharmaceutical industry is proving the ideal launch pad for RFID. Large corporate budgets and a genuine need for a cheap, reliable alternative to barcodes bodes well for quick implementation.
Today, non-printed RFID is established in several pharmaceutical supply chains in the US. Global pharmaceutical firms such as Pfizer and Purdue Pharma, both in the US, have been the most recent brand owners to implement RFID tags on their drugs. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) also in the US and Novartis in Belgium are planning to launch products next year. As developers find new ways to produce cheaper tags, namely printing them, the pharmaceutical industry is likely to lap up the technology even more.
The pharmaceutical industry takes to printed RFID
By forming strong links with packaging machine developers and electronics firms, leading brands are trying to develop cheaper printed RFID labels and tags. Alcan, a global packaging firm based in Germany, is designing silver printed antennas for use in printed RFID tags and is in advanced talks with the major pharmaceutical companies about printing parts of the RFID tag onto the packaging. Printing RFID tags will allow the technology to be implemented on a far wider scale. The cost reductions that printing offers will enable printed tags to eventually be used on all products, rather than just the high-end goods. RFID is currently being used on expensive medication such as medicine to treat HIV, it is also being used on heavily counterfeited goods such as Viagra. If tags could be printed, lesser value goods could also benefit from the track-and-trace technology.
Printed RFID developments
Roll-to-roll (R2R) printing techniques are central to developing a reliable, cheap method of production. The process is established, can reach high production speeds and prints large volumes quickly. So long as the tag structures are robust and can be mass-produced outside a clean room, R2R is the ideal system for printing RFID onto sticky labels or a box. Though developers are currently only able to print the antennas directly onto packaging, this does reduce some costs. In around 10 years full tags, complete with chip, will be printable and
this is where the real cost savings will kick in. But until then money-rich industries like the
pharmaceutical industry can still roll out hybrid printable tags - those with printed antennas
but manually attached chips.
Intelligent retail packaging value
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Pharmaceuticals and healthcare
Value (million EUR)
19,4
22,3
20,0
25,0
42,0
66,6
90,0
Growth (%)
17,0
15,0
20,0
25,0
42,0
40,0
35,0
Cosmetics and toiletries
Value (million EUR)
18,2
20,0
24,0
28,8
33,1
36,4
40,5
Growth (%)
25,0
10,0
20,0
20,0
15,0
10,0
11,3
Value and percentage growth of intelligent retail packaging - pharmaceutical and healthcare sector 2001-2007
Introduction of RFID to the Hungarian market
In Hungary, the testing of the RFID technology's application in the pharma industry has started at the beginning of 2005 by Állami Nyomda.
The solutions developed since than are ranging from automatic identification of pallets all the way to the item-level traceability of drugs.
During the development of these solutions, Állami Nyomda received help from numerous market-leader companies, all respected in their sectors.
The Kner Nyomda from Békéscsaba, along with Állami Nyomda, embeds the RFID tags into the pharmaceutical packagings, these "intelligent" boxes become traceable after arriving to the pharmaceutical companies for the rest of their lifecycles.
EPCglobal Hungary (GS1 Hungary) is responsible for the item-level identification and traceability of drugs according to the international standards.
Oracle Hungary and ODIN Budapest is able to ensure the effective establishment of the RFID infrastructure at the different scenes of the supply chain, namely at drug producers, logistic centers, and pharmacies.
TEVA is providing the professional background for introducing the technology in the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry.
State Printing House Plc will continue research and development and also the sales of innovative products produced as a result of R&D. As for the future, RFID technology will have a key role as its wide spread is expected in the near future. The above-mentioned pilot project and the current orders, ie. the sales and profitability of products will have a significant effect on the Company after 288.
