Texas Instruments outlines plan for securing pharma supply chain

A growing number of counterfeit, grey market and diverted products are entering the pharmaceutical supply chain, compromising consumer confidence in the authenticity of their prescription drugs. RFID technology is poised to help secure the supply chain, but to do so, the industry needs item-level tagging standards, regulatory guidance from the federal government and alignment on a Tag Data Security Infrastructure (TDSI). A new white paper from Texas Instruments, ‘RFID Tag Data Security Infrastructure: A Common Ground Approach for Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Safety’, defines the key deliverables and requirements needed to achieve agreement between segments of the supply chain concerned with privacy, as well as the ability to use  product information to improve operational efficiencies.

In addition to defining the necessary elements for deploying RFID at the item-level, TI’s paper lays the foundation for a TDSI for these initiatives. The TDSI is a set of rules, specifications and common protocols that enable item-level tags and readers to work within and across the industry’s information technology ecosystem.  This proposed approach has the potential to unify the industry’s efforts to achieve a safer and more secure pharmaceutical supply chain. 

‘The TDSI model is about delivering a secure RFID solution that raises confidence in the authenticity of prescriptions while protecting privacy,’ said Joseph Pearson, business development manager, TI-RFid Systems, and author of the new white paper. ‘By augmenting network-based applications with the capability of anytime, anywhere authentication and product information, we’re bringing together all pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders, while laying the groundwork for other high-value branded goods markets.

Leading RFID infrastructure providers, Nosco Inc., Northern Apex and Sirit Inc., also support the need for a secure tag data infrastructure.