SAP SE is announcing a smart app designed to track, trace and authenticate prescription medicines in the United States. Developed in partnership with leading global pharmaceutical research company Boehringer Ingelheim, the smart app will enable law enforcement officials to potentially detect illicit, counterfeit or unapproved Boehringer Ingelheim medicines being smuggled into the United States or sold illegally.
The smart app will allow U.S. law enforcement officials across the country to scan the 2D barcode on Boehringer Ingelheim-manufactured life-enhancing medications and authenticate them before the medicines reach patients.
“The law enforcement smart app utilizes SAP’s scalable and secure blockchain solution for manufacturers to drastically improve the pharmaceutical supply chain from start to finish,” said SAP’s global GM for Consumer Industries, Matt Laukaitis. “As this app demonstrates, vertical industry expertise is a critical success factor in delivering innovations to protect patients and ensure access to authentic, life-enhancing medicines.”
Passed into law in 2013, the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) aimed to boost the FDA’s ability to protect U.S. patients by developing a connected, digital system to trace prescription drugs throughout the country and identify counterfeit, stolen or contaminated medicine before it reached the hands of consumers.
SAP’s smart app is a major step in achieving the vision of the DSCSA and is vital to protecting communities and patient safety. When counterfeit drugs are released into the supply chain, vulnerable patients and marginalized populations with limited access to safe, authentic and affordable medicines bear the brunt of the impact.
“Patient safety is our top priority at our family-owned company, and unverified pharmaceuticals, especially amid a global pandemic, pose a significant threat to the safety and security of both patients and healthcare providers,” said Aaron Graham, Executive Director, Brand Safety & Security, Boehringer Ingelheim. “SAP’s blockchain-based solution allows our team to safeguard against illicit and unsafe medicines reaching the hands of those who need medicine the most.”
This technology builds on SAP’s previous efforts to eliminate counterfeit products with SAP Information Collaboration Hub for Life Sciences, a blockchain-technology tool that allows users to authenticate pharmaceutical packaging as it moves between manufacturers, U.S. wholesalers and U.S. hospitals and pharmacies.
