WebSphere RFID Information Center manages a database that enables the management and sharing of information between drug manufacturers and between the entities that trade in them and distribute them in the various markets
The People system, DailyMaily
At the end of August, IBM announced the launch of new tools that allow drug companies to build and operate a certification system for the originality of the drug they produce, at each stage of the supply chain up to the final consumer. The solution package allows every player participating in the value chain of the pharmaceutical industry - manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and hospitals - secure and on-demand access to the complete historical information of each package or bottle.
The system for securing the originality and tracking the history of the medicine offered by IBM is based on a new version of the RFID center in the WebSphere server environment. The new package - WebSphere RFID Information Center, manages a database that enables efficient management and safe sharing of information between drug manufacturers and between the entities that trade in them and distribute them in the various markets. The system is already in the service of a prominent international drug manufacturer, and in a pilot trial in the service of one of the three largest drug distributors in the US. The global customs project ITAIDE uses this tool to manage the serial numbers in tracking the movement of pharmaceutical containers around the world.
The new system allows pharmaceutical companies to comply with existing standards and new standards that are expected to be implemented in the near future, such as those that will come into use in 2009 in California, which require the use of RFID, barcodes or a combination thereof. Thus, it is possible to establish a comprehensive framework for monitoring the different production sources and marketing channels, with the cooperation of the players along the supply chain of the product. The system also opens the way to streamlining the accounting processes for the return of medicines, reimbursements to patients by the medical insurance companies, and efficient management of inventory and expiration dates.
Customers implementing WebSphere RFID data centers can define rules for their supply chain operations – and modes of response to any possible business scenario. In order to support this ability, IBM integrated the complex event processing engine Coral8 Engine into its new product. The Coral8 company provides free of charge a license to use its product to all IBM customers who use the new WebSphere RFID Information Center system.
IBM's new product is fully compliant with the EPCglobal Electronic Product Code Information Services standard, and integrates with the main data systems of the various customers, in order to draw from them additional content and information about the products, the location of warehouses and means of transport, and the data of the various suppliers.
Published in Daily on 013/8/07
