Systech: Anti-counterfeiting solutions for securing the pharmaceutical packaging supply chain
19 Feb 2024 | Systech
Global strategic account manager at Systech, Remi Turbet Delof discerns pharmaceutical packaging trends. Combating counterfeiting tops the demands of pharmaceutical manufacturers, Delof says. Digital fingerprinting and serialization can help with non-replicable solutions that can work with existing packaging and allow the product to be tracked and traced along the supply chain, with companies like Systech employing AI and machine learning to detect inconsistencies.
Welcome.
This is Radhika Sikaria for Packaging Insights.
Today, I'm joined by Remi who's the Global strategic account manager for Systec.
Welcome, Rey.
Could you please introduce yourself and the company to us?
Sure.
Thank you, Radika.
Thank you for welcoming me.
So, I'm working at SysTec.
Systec is a company, leading software company providing global products identification, packaging intelligence, connected products, solutions so that we allow our customers to fight against counterfighting and diversion.
Our customers are mainly life science companies, FMCGs companies as.
Systec is a brand of market image, and we are part of Dover Corporation.
Remi, what are the trends you're observing in the pharmaceutical industry and what's happening right now around the world?
Walk us through it.
OK, there are two main, main trends that we understood during Pharmacac.
First one is, as always, counterfighting, fighting against counterfeit products.
That is something that is a long lasting fight.
A lot of countries in the world and areas in the world have decided to put in place some track and trace solutions in order to fight against this kind of plague.
Let's consider Europe, US, Middle East, and so on.
But even with these, these, these, these tools and these solutions that have been put in place, we always fight against this against counterfighters who are able to reach the patients, and this is the main, the main, the main issue.
The second one is sustainability.
Sustainability is something that is really keen for pharma industry as as patients because all stakeholders within the area are looking for, I wouldn't say low carbon, but a lower carbon footprint for anything that is related to delivering drugs to patients, and this is something that Poop popped up during this this farm attack and something that I guess that we can talk about.
Right.
So, if you could elaborate a little bit more about, counterfeiting and how Systec is helping its, clients, with that.
Sure, I said, there have been, there have been a lot of regulations put in place in the world for fighting against counterfighting.
We are talking in this case about track and trace.
Track and trace means sterilization, aggregation, and in some cases temporary evidence so that patients are sure and secured about the fact that the product that they have in hand is, is not is not a counterfeited product, a fake product.
The fact is that we at SISTEC have observed that these regulations address a lot of issues, but there are still holes in the racket.
There is a perfect example at the moment with a very famous drug that has been that reached Europe, where people, , purchased it, purchased it, used it, and are now at the hospital.
So what we consider is that if supply chain is secured, there are always a way for patients to reach products or to be reached by products that are not supposed to be to be to be sold.
So what we consider is that adding additional layers of protection such as digital fingerprints or asset analysis can be a significant improvement for for the industry for securing.
Their patience against fake products.
Because in this case it's not only, you know, the industry that says that product is, is, is, is genuine, it allows the patient to control by themselves that the product is not counterfeited so that they can use it in total security.
On top of it, there are some AI or machine learning solutions that can help preventing some leakages within the supply chain.
So that they can be identified and secured before the drugs reach the patients.
Right, so, how is Systech helping its clients with that?
Are there any new innovations from the company?
Yeah, for sure, we are a leading provider in track and trace.
We've been working for the last 35 years in this industry.
We've developed patented solutions for allowing this digital fingerprint I was mentioning so that we can secure in a very transparent way with no additions on the line that A product that is in the hands of in the patient's hands is purely genuine, not counterfeited, and have been checked within the packaging and the supply chain of the of the drug maker.
Right, the other thing that you mentioned, Remi, was sustainability, and we're seeing that sustainability is becoming a bigger conversation around the globe, around, different industries, but what exactly does sustainability for pharmaceutical packaging mean?
The fact is that pharma industry, as all, all the industries, has to deal with both regulations.
And patient expectations.
So one of the main challenges that has to be addressed at the moment of the farm industry is to enter into what we call a circular economy.
So that waste can be reduced.
Carbon footprint can be reduced, regulations that are upcoming are addressed, and I said, patients and consumers' concerns are, are, , are answered.
The, the, the complexity for farming industry is that the supply chain supply chains are really complex.
It's not that easy to put in place the, the, the perfect tool or the perfect solution for allowing the industry to, to manage all the assets such as alongside their life cycle that can be multiple.
So what we, what we, what we suggest, what we consider is that track and trace is a solution so that people can and companies can track alongside their supply chain all their assets including Returns because when we are talking about circular economy we need to get back packaging, clean process because for sure when the packaging can be used it has to be cleaned again and this is a way and this is a solution that that that allows pharma companies to Both as said address regulations and, and, and, and requirements and decrease their own footprint at, at a, at a larger scale than, than.
At a larger scale.
From a technology standpoint, as discussed already, there are also AI that can help.
Industry for the 02s as because in this case and with this kind of solution we can both Check if ever there are some some steps to be covered by for some reasons related to some to some specific, specific workflows, but but also any single, let's say step can be tracked.
Real time with using, you know, IoT IoT solutions so that we can secure the whole process.
We can track all the elements and then we can ensure all the stakeholders that anything that can be put in place is sufficient and enough and addresses the needs of the of the of the company and the and the and the regulations.
And, thank you for joining us today, Rey.
It was lovely to hear from you.
Thank you for talking to Packaging Insights.
And you
