Drug Living Lab – Supply Chain Security and Control

Abstract

Supply chain security and control are key issues for the life sci ences or pharmaceutical industry. Counterfeit drugs have been recognised as a serious public health risk1. The Drug Living Lab has been designed as a pilot project to study the feasibility of innovative technologies for securing supply chains of medication from the manufacturer to the pharmacy or patient. The chapter provides a brief account of current risks, and sketches a possible response based on existing solutions, such as mass serialization and tracking, and tracing integrated into an information infrastructure using the concept of Electronic Product Codes Information Services (EPCIS). Although it might be argued the technical building blocks are already in place, the pharmaceutical sector has yet to produce a coordinated response to the stringent compliance issues and the threat posed by counterfeit drugs. No single player can solve the problem. What is needed is a global, industrywide, inter-organisational approach that involves the coordinated action of a large number of stakeholders, including industry, government and third party representatives.