Effective counterfeiting/diversion solutions can be achieved several ways: adding one or more visible or covert authentication devices, fingerprinting the packaging material itself, or using a two-pronged approach. These new products in the market illustrate the advantages of each.
Security Foil - CPI Security Foil, developed by Constantia Hueck Foils for pharmaceutical primary packaging, enables fine-line graphics, text, logos, and other micro-features to be applied directly to the surface of the aluminum during the rolling process. Because the images are embedded in the foil, they cannot be removed. And because of the high-precision, proprietary laser technology used, the images cannot be copied by counterfeiters. With the same thickness/strength as standard foil, CPI Security Foil requires no changes to the packaging process and performs identically. It can be used in any aluminum-based application – including push-through blister foils, child-resistant foils, cold-form foils, pouches, sachets, induction seals for bottles, and more.
Biometric Authentication – Cortegra Group, Inc. recently unveiled a ground-breaking biometric authentication technology in which an on-line camera captures the image of a specific area on the package as it passes at a rate of up to 15 items/second and creates a digital “fingerprint” of its structure. Comparing a stored image to one captured by a handheld reader/verifier allows product authentication at any point in supply chain. The digital image can be converted to a numerical code serving as unique item-level identifier for pedigree records.
Representing an entirely new level of product security and brand protection, this anti-counterfeiting solution is based on the unique natural microstructures found in the substrate of an individual package. The camera-based technology captures the information embedded in the structure of a particular package and, using a proprietary software solution, transforms it into a digital signature which cannot be easily duplicated. It is more unique than a fingerprint with only 1 in 1027 having identical configurations.
Two-Pronged Authentication – AstraZeneca’s Serialized Authentication Program is a two-pronged effort to protect drug products with unit-level serialized tamper-evident security seals (TESS) combined with unique carton numbers (UCN). The unique number that each carton carries is in a 2D bar code printed online at the AstraZenaca plant where packaging takes place. The second prong of AstraZeneca’s Serialization Authentication Program is a serialized tamper-evident seal which helps guarantee that what’s inside the carton is genuine. The seal has a hologram on it, which is an overt layer of authentication that pharmacists or hospital personnel can see. It also has hidden security features that can’t be copied, including a unique 2D bar code printed in ink that is not visible to the naked eye. David Teale, product security director at AstraZeneca, describes this two-pronged technique as a bookend approach. “We authenticate the pack as it leaves our manufacturing plant by uploading the unique numbers into a data base,” says Teale. “If the last person to handle the pack in the supply chain can authenticate the package against the data base, we know both ends of the supply chain are secure.” |
