"This is the first time a global pharmaceutical has made the move to putting invisible, edible barcodes on medication." [Wu Xi PharmaTech & TruTag Technologies]
WuXi PharmaTech is a pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device R&D services and outsourcing company with operations in China and the U.S. TruTag Technologies is the developer of an edible, covert security platform that addresses the global product counterfeiting.
WuXi Corporate Venture Fund has invested in TruTag, and the two companies will collaborate to offer WuXi's global customers TruTag invisible and edible barcodes to prevent counterfeiting and enhance drug safety.
The TruTag security platform will help to provide superior brand protection, enhance the safety and traceability of food and medicine, improve tracking and logistics, assure product quality, and enable the Internet of Things.
TruTag microtags are inert, edible, and can integrate into the fabric of a product without packaging or labels - much like fingerprints on a human being - to authenticate food, drugs, electronics, consumer products, and industrial components.
Millions of optical patterns can be embedded into a TruTag, a dust-sized particle smaller than the width of a human hair. Using this technology, brand owners, including pharmaceutical companies, will be able to field-read finished tablets circulating in the wholesale and retail market to determine the authenticity and provenance of medicines, including detailed information such as site and date of manufacture, lots, and other critical data.
Dr. Ge Li, chairman and chief executive officer of WuXi PharmaTech, stated that his company would explore TruTag's further development "to enhance patient safety and protect our customers" intellectual property."
WuXi provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies with an integrated portfolio of laboratory and manufacturing services throughout the drug and medical device R&D process. Its services are designed to help shorten the cycle and lower the cost of drug and medical device R&D. The operating subsidiaries of WuXi PharmaTech are known as WuXi AppTec.
"TruTag is very excited to work with WuXi to explore the development of our on-dose authentication solution for WuXi's pharmaceutical customers," said Dr. Hank C.K. Wuh, chairman of TruTag Technologies. "This innovative technology is an important new weapon in fighting the growing global problem of counterfeit drugs."
