Frewitt Track & Trace’s laser coding system allows invisible and tamper-proof identification on glass syringes and vials.
Frewitt Track & Trace has developed a laser marking system using a low-energy laser to engrave a data matrix code directly onto glass containers. Frewitt also supplies the high-speed vision system and illumination technique to verify this type of code reliably.
This method allows 100% product traceability and is a unique type of coding for combatting counterfeit drugs. With a capacity of up to 600 syringes/min, a precise, fast, reliable and revolutionary technology has been developed for the pharma industry.
The laser coding system offers an effective solution for permanently applying almost any code. Highlights include:
- being difficult to copy
- being tamper-proof
- having a clean and crisp appearance
- being easy to read and verify
- holding even on siliconised surfaces
- withstanding sterilisation and freeze-drying
- a 2D matrix or human-readable code for only €0.0005
- high-speed marking (600 syringes/min or 300 vials/min)
- high-speed reading (300 pcs/min).
The fight against product piracy
When it comes to product and quality assurance, but especially in the fight against product piracy, the pharmaceutical industry is facing new challenges in regard to identification and follow-up of the entire production process. A laser engraving a quasi-invisible millimetre-size code on the glass packaging will comply with the forthcoming licensing regulations and increase user safety.
The user of a drug, whether a medical specialist or patient, wants to be able to see reliable information about action and quality. Up until now, this can be identified and read on package inserts, batch numbers with a manufacturing and expiry date, and by means of barcodes. This has offered satisfactory protection against misuse; however, the massive increase in medicine counterfeiting and the infringement of industrial property rights associated therewith require new possibilities of protection and safety within quality control, from the manufacturing process up to the final user.
Product piracy damages the pharmaceutical industry and also has an adverse effect on the health of people worldwide. While the internal inspection procedures devised to avoid manipulation errors within the pharmaceutical industry are among the highest in the world, human error is always possible.
Counterfeit-proof marking
The concept of the individual identification of mass products (mass serialisation) makes possible the follow-up of the production and trade routes for each individual dose, whether syringe, vial or ampule. Frewitt proposes a solution that enables the unique identification of each container together with automatic 100% rereading of the containers throughout the production line.
In the future, the proof of a medicine’s authenticity will be made mandatory by the FDA and the EMEA by means of certified original manufacturer data.
The pharmaceutical industry must therefore make investments in novel marking systems that bring it financial and marketing advantages. A counterfeit-proof marking will ensure the safety of the entire market launch process, creating confidence and avoiding potentially life-threatening occurrences and counterfeiting.
Frewitt supplies the full traceability package. Its laser coding unit (LC-60) and code-reading unit (CodeTracker) are its inline tools, which guarantee traceability inside a company, while the FReader is an offline tracking tool.