TruTag Launches Portable Pharma Authentication Reader

TruTag Technologies today announced their participation in the Seventh Global Forum on Pharmaceutical AntiCounterfeiting and Diversion in Washington, DC, taking place November 27–29, 2012 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. This East Coast conference is one of the largest global forums dedicated to the reduction and elimination of counterfeit and diverted medicine, and is held in proximity to an area with one of the greatest concentrations of pharmaceutical companies in the world.

The venue is an ideal opportunity for TruTag to introduce its revolutionary technology before an audience that brings together all constituents, including patient groups, government regulators, healthcare personnel, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and anti–counterfeiting solution providers. In addition, TruTag will debut and demonstrate its new portable optical reader, which can authenticate solid oral dose medicines marked with the TruTag® microtag solution. “We look forward to demonstrating our ground–breaking drug authentication solution to such an experienced and knowledgeable audience, as well as participating in the seminars, workshops, and other discussions at this significant event,” said TruTag President Kent Mansfield.

TruTag’s “covert, edible bar codes” provide drug makers with a product security and tracking solution at the dosage level, rather than on packaging, so that manufacturers can authenticate medicine directly on a pill with the ability to confirm the product strength, batch number, site of manufacture and expiration date, among other product information.

In late 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued final guidance to the drug industry for the use of physical–chemical identifiers (PCIDs) as on dose authentication measures like TruTag’s solution in drug products. This latest FDA guidance provides a strong framework for pharmaceutical manufacturers to begin implementing PCIDs in solid oral dosage form drug products. “With the PCID Guidance and other actions, the FDA has demonstrated that addressing the problem of counterfeit and diverted drugs is one of its highest priorities,” said TruTag Chief Operating Officer Peter Wong.

TruTag’s high–purity silica microtags are inert and can be associated with a variety of product information, similar to a traditional bar code. Further, silica (silicon dioxide) has long been used as an excipient in food and medicine, and is well–suited for the PCID Guidance because it has been affirmed as “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, by the FDA. TruTag’s novel drug authentication technology won the 2010 North American Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Innovation of the Year award presented by Frost & Sullivan.

About TruTag Technologies:

TruTag Technologies has developed a covert, low–cost, heat–resistant, and edible silica microtag (called TruTag®) that serves as an edible bar code and can be incorporated into solid oral dose medications as well as other materials and products. This on dose technology platform can be used to help prevent counterfeiting, improve tracking and authentication, add efficiency to clinical trials administration, provide informatics for product and component tracking through the supply chain, and assure product quality. The unique physical properties of TruTag® microtags provide a vast library of available unique codes, which allow for tracking of high volume, high value items at product or even batch levels. This serialized business information tool can be used in a variety of markets with high–value items, including, but not limited to pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, food, electronics and medical devices. Learn more at www.trutags.com

TRUTAG is a registered trademark of TruTag Technologies, Inc.