A pharmaceutical company is using blockchain to manage their supply chain. Some of their drugs must be stored at a lower temperature throughout transport so they installed RFID chips to record the temperature of the container. Which other technology combined with blockchain would help the company in this situation?
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
What is blockchain and what can it do for pharmaceutical supply chains?
Tags: Ambient Pharmaceuticals Biologics Adapting Supply Chain Big Data Data Analytics Data Collection Drug Security Pharma Security
Chanice Henry
03/23/2018
Most of us have heard of the term blockchain coupled with the likes of bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Although many of us have questions. Firstly what is blockchain? And secondly, how exactly can it push the pharmaceutical industry forward?
Pills
What actually is blockchain?
Bob Celeste the founder of The Center For Supply Chain Studies (C4SCS) defines it as ‘a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.’ This network usually peer-to-peer managed and follows set rules when validating new data block.
The distribution of data is secure and a data transaction is conducted at a minor fee. Data governance rules are enforced to preserve integrity when inputting or retrieving information. After input, data and program modification or removal is usually impossible.
These attributes provide all users with a consistent view of the ledger in its latest state.
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The case for blockchain in pharmaceutical supply chains
Currently in the drug supply chain, the trading partners in the chain connect via individual systems for exchanging contracts, agreements and transactions, which can duplicate work and in some cases produce slightly varying conclusions.
A blockchain provides a single source of truth for partners to work with and so minimizes activity needed to communicate and limits the risk of exposing proprietary information.
Mark Toohey of TBSx3 noted: “If there’s one word that really sums up why blockchain, that word is collaboration.”
Various stakeholders in a drug supply chain can share, cross match and store information and be assured of its integrity.
The general idea is that everyone decides and agrees on each block before it is added to the chain. After that, no one has the rights to go in and change any element. This technology is focused on certainty, it is not a rapid process because lots of transactions are built into a block before that block is added to the chain.
“We all know how important data is in the world, and that collaborative synergy, for want of a better term, unleashes some new possibilities that we haven’t had in the commercial world before.”
Read more: What’s new for outsourcing in pharma supply? It’s not just about the costs
Combatting fake pharmaceuticals with multiple layers of security
Seven years ago Mark Toohey was diagnosed with cancer, which he survived with the help of oncology treatment. He has been working with bitcoin and blockchain for six years as he was an early adopter of the technology. Then, two years ago the issue of the counterfeit medicines market came to his attention.
According to PWC, with annual sales ranging from $163 billion to $217 billion, counterfeit pharmaceuticals are estimated as the most lucrative sector of the global trade in
illegally copied goods.” “I came across something that was very personal and very profound for me. I read news of cancer patients in US hospitals who had been given fake chemotherapy. I’m only alive now because I got genuine chemotherapy.”
He continued: “To think that someone has to go through the ordeal and anguish of chemotherapy, even if what they’re getting isn’t fake, the anguish of walking into a room and allowing someone to poison you is really, really hard. It was just a profound moment for me.
“I thought it’s almost like I’ve got a second life here and I just refused to accept to live in a world like that.”
Mark Toohey is dedicated to combatting the counterfeit medicines market and opened up his blockchain company TBSx3 – which stands for To Be Sure, To Be Sure, To Be Sure.
Serialization is a useful traceability tool, however, can you be certain that a counterfeiter hasn’t copied your product’s serial code?
TBSx3 looks at providing three layers of protection.
First layer: Every item, packet or bottle gets its own encrypted ID - QR code or RFID – to prevent counterfeiters from copying/guessing the code to replicate onto fake batches of the product to infiltrate the legitimate supply chain.
Second layer: The container filled with the pallet of cartons is tracked along the drug supply chain. From the assembly line to the warehouse, to the truck, to the port, to the ship, to the port and so on until it gets to the end customer. Machine learning is applied to the data to prevent weak spots in the chain.
Third Layer: Is a bitcoin feature called no double spend. Mark Toohey explains: “This simply means that in this ledger you cross off an ID/code that has already been used. So if someone tries to present a copy of that ID, it won’t be accepted.”
This deters counterfeiters from creating a huge number of copies of a genuine item with this code because they will only be able to sell one item.
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Answer:
As we know,
- Blockchain is a technology through which a given set of information is highly secure and cannot ne encrypted without the availibility of 100% required cases.
- The blockchain technology helps to verify the integrity of the drug supply chain and enhance development by leveraging the blockchain to support and manage development process.
- It can be used to easily trace the supply chain(the flow of goods from sellers to customers.)
- This technique can help to prevent fake drugs by significantly increasing the security and transparency of supply chain management.
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