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To Fight Counterfeits Pfizer Inserts RFID Tags in Viagra Packages
Pfizer Inc. has adopted RFID, an emerging security and inventory control technology, in a bid to detect counterfeit pills. Pfizer began the rollout on December 15, 2005 and expects that all U.S. shipments of Viagra (bottles, cases and pallets) shipped in the U.S. will bear tiny paper thin RFID tags readable by radio frequency scanners to determine an Electronic Product Code. Five million counterfeit pills were seized by authorities last year. Dangerous substances such as boric acid, leaded paint and floor wax have been found in fake pills. Though the company is not aware of any reports of harm, it estimates its yearly losses in the tens of millions of dollars.
RFID has numerous technical advantages over barcodes and other inventory tracking mechanisms and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging the drug industry to adopt RFIDs. But like the introduction of many new technologies, there are associated costs (e.g. Pfizer has no plans to pay for RFID readers for distributors and pharmacists) and potential downsides. Privacy advocates are concerned that the tags will offer yet another manner to snoop on consumers, but Pfizer notes that its tags are affixed only to Pfizer packaging which warns of the presence of an RF device, and most pharmacists dispense prescriptions in plain bottles. Moreover, no patient information is encoded on the tags.
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