AlpVision partners with ISID to expand its presence in Japan's pharma market

A joint venture between Dentsu, an independent advertising firm, and General Electric in the US, ISID offers a host of IT systems and brings extensive experience in product development and business operations consulting, particularly in the manufacturing and financial sectors.

AlpVision is a Swiss software company that develops digital invisible technologies enabling identification of materials, such as paper, carton, molded plastic, glass and metal. Printed using offset, flexographic and rotogravure printing presses, Cryptoglyph is invisible to the naked eye and can be detected using a smartphone. The technology has been deployed at major global pharmaceutical companies for over a decade.

In partnering with ISID, AlpVision not only hopes to respond to the increasing number of counterfeit Japanese brand name pharmaceuticals sold in foreign countries, but also of fake medications appearing on the Japanese market, particularly those sold on websites operated by foreign drug sellers, such as those located in Hong Kong and Singapore.

‘ISID is a natural fit to support the development of the Japanese market and to help with the deployment of our Cryptoglyph technology, particularly on pharmaceutical packaging,’ said Martin Kutter, president of AlpVision.

AlpVision CEO Fred Jordan added: ‘Japanese pharmaceutical companies represent approximately 20 percent of the worldwide pharmaceutical turnover and offer therefore interesting development perspectives for AlpVision.

‘The expansion of our business in Japan is as much a reflection of the increasing need for our services as it is of the continuing growth we’re experiencing in East Asia.’