Guest Editorial
A Perfect Storm for
Counterfeiters?
Traditional methods of brand protection, such as security packaging,
are valuable—but on-dose protection is also needed.
By Dean Hart
President
Nanoguardian
In 2008, 3 million people in the
United States lost their jobs. Even
with the recently approved economic stimulus package,
analysts project that an
additional 3 million jobs
are at risk in 2009. And
the United States is not
alone in its pain from
economic woes—it was
recently announced that
experts believe at least
1 million jobs are at risk
in the European Union
this year as well. Virtually every part of the
Dean Hart
world is experiencing
an economic downturn resulting in
families evaluating every dollar spent.
Under scrutiny are all nonessential
needs. But the one essential that is
beyond scrutiny is the medication that
many of these unemployed individuals
and their family members need.
The reality of diminished income
combined with the essential need to
continue medications results in an
environment where patients search for
more economical sources for medications. Concurrently, deadlines for
required brand protection initiatives,
such as California’s e-pedigree legislation, have been pushed back at least
six years for implementation, resulting
in little strength behind brand-security
efforts such as RFID and mass serialization that require involvement of the
entire supply chain to be effective.
The unfortunate combination of
restricted income, essential need, and
the delay in brand protection mandates
equates to a “Perfect
Storm” for counterfeiters and illegal diverters.
There has perhaps never been a better time
in the history of the
present-day pharmaceutical market for counterfeiters and diverters
to ply their trade. The
U.S.-based Center for
Medicines in the Public Interest (CMPI)
expects counterfeit drug
commerce to increase 13% annually
through 2010, which is nearly twice
the rate of legitimate pharmaceuticals.
This growth in counterfeit medications
will generate $75 billion in revenues—
a 92% increase from 2005.
In this threatening environment,
pharmaceutical manufacturers need to
establish strategies that have an immediate impact in combating criminals.
These criminals not only affect patient
health and well-being but also tarnish
the reputation of safety and quality that manufacturers have worked so
hard to achieve.
Manufacturers have traditionally
focused on securing product through
on-package technologies. However,
while these generally overt solutions
provide a strong first level of defense,
Guest Editorial
Continued on page 6
A Dose of Protection
One such on-dose technology The overt and covert security
is NanoGuardian’s NanoEncryp- features enable authentication of
tion technology, a brand-protection each dose at any point in the supply
technology that enables manufactur- chain, while NanoGuardian’s foren-ers to trace and authenticate every sic-level NanoCodes provide com-single dose. NanoEncryption tech- prehensive tracing information on
nology places overt, covert, and each and every dose. Unlike e-ped-forensic-level security features on igree technologies, NanoGuardian’s
each individual dose and can be NanoEncryption technology does
used to protect tablets, capsules, not rely on investment by down-and single-use vial caps. Nano- stream supply-chain partners to
Guardian’s multiple-layered security be effective, so NanoGuardian can
features provide a dually protective provide immediate benefits to man-benefit to manufacturers with a sin- ufacturers in the fight against coun-gle technology. terfeiting and illegal diversion.
