Janice Wortham has joined Mettler-Toledo Hi-Speed as Regional Sales Manager for Pharmaceutical Sales, bringing more than 12 years of experience in packaging machinery sales. Working in the past with Waukesha Cherry-Burrell and Cozzoli Machine Co., Wortham has focused since 2004 on serialization, track and trace, and vision inspection solutions sales for the pharmaceutical industry, working with Systech International and Seidenader Vision.
By Marie Redding
Freelance Writer
It’s increasingly difficult—even for the experts—to tell the difference between a counterfeit drug and the real thing. Consumers feel they have no sure way of knowing if they’re getting duped. They may even ingest a harmful ingredient a counterfeiter has used to make a fake pill—like highway paint, floor wax, and boric acid—according to a CBS news report.
Now in our archives is our exclusive virtual conference event that examines one of the key issues facing the Pharma and BioPharma supply chain, counterfeit drugs. Titled ‘Pharmaceutical Track & Trace and Authentication: The Fight against Fake Drugs’, the event is presented by UBM brands Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News, Tracking & Tracing Pharmaceutical Products, InnoPack, and Pharmapack in association with CPhI Conferences. The online format features two supplier webinars, two “exhibition halls” and a lineup of featured speakers.
A new system launched in Brazil at FCE Pharma is designed to offer a stand-alone solution to support different approaches to pharmaceutical product serialization. VisioCIT can handle either labeling or direct coding, reports Christoph Lehmann, director of Uhlmann VisioTec GmbH (www.visiotecamerica.com), which can position companies to meet Brazil’s pending rules as well as others around the world.
Covectra announces a new offering for Contract Service Providers (CSP) working in the pharmaceutical space. The company’s new CSP Serialization Gateway solution allows CSPs to simplify serialization and event data exchange between CSP sites and multiple brand owners. The turnkey solution offers CSPs the opportunity to serialize selective products for customers who may not already have a mass serialization program in place.
Twenty five years ago, packaging was almost like a “black hole,” notes Robert DeJean, president and CEO of Systech International (Cranbury, NJ). “Everything was mechanical or manual, so there was not a lot of visibility along a packaging line or any data generated. There wasn’t much control, either, and automation was just reaching the packaging line.” DeJean shared these observations as he reminisced about the pharmaceutical packaging industry to PMP News editor Daphne Allen as Systech celebrated its 25th anniversary at Pack Expo International.
In October, Joseph Ringwood, COO, Systech International, joined PMP News Editor Daphne Allen to discuss the global serialization landscape in a live Webcast. Earlier this year, Allen interviewed Ringwood along with Systech’s customers to prepare the white paper, “Establishing a State of Readiness: Mass Serialization as a Business Strategy.” Systech International has more than 150 lines serialized and is involved in 90% of all serialization deployments.
A group of packaging solution providers have come together to provide a single team that can help drug companies prepare for upcoming electronic pedigree and serialization requirements.