Two serialization companies team up to tackle counterfeit pharmaceuticals

Systech International and Servicepoint recently joined forces to provide serialization and automation solutions to the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

Both companies entered into the partnership in an effort to combat counterfeit medications.

“Internationalization, outsourcing, e-tailing and the expansion of international trade zones have created enormous complexities throughout the supply chain and product life cycle," Systech CEO Bob DeJean said. "This has resulted in a rapid escalation of global counterfeiting issues, threatening consumer safety like never before."

The agreement between Systech and Servicepoint will give pharmaceutical companies access to enhanced solutions that can be quickly implemented. The companies will be partners in Sweden, Russia, Estonia and Finland.

Systech is known to have pioneered serialization and is becoming a model for the future of authentication. It unifies and protects the supply chain through enterprise serialization, authentication and track and trace technologies that ensure regulatory compliance and reduce risks. These technologies have been used not only in the pharmaceutical industry, but also in industries, such as life science and consumer packaged goods.

Servicepoint is a serialization automation supplier -- one of five in the European market -- that automates all aspects of the production line, including installation and maintenance.

“Our strength lies in our long-term automation experience and a strong knowledge of EU legislation," Iiro Jantunen, a serialization expert at Servicepoint, said. "This allows us to keep pharmaceutical manufacturers up to date on changes in the industry."

As part of a regulation adopted by the European Commission in October, the serialization of prescription medicine packages will be mandatory in all European Union countries by 2019. There are currently 15,000 prescription medicine production lines in Europe, and some may have to be either replaced or automated in order to put serialization into effect.