Medical Device Link.

Originally Published PMPN November 2002

NEWS

Kassandra Kania

Counterfeiting operations are becoming more sophisticated, but thankfully so is the technology used to combat this growing problem. Appleton Security Products (Appleton, WI) has launched its TechMark taggant papers to offer brand protection for a variety of markets, including the pharmaceutical industry. These papers can be used for labels, hangtags, and packaging, as well as documents.

"We take small ultraviolet particles and embed them within the paper itself," explains Pam Weinhold, product development manager. "We then apply coating on top of this to make a quality print surface, but within the paper is a unique code that we make with a combination of different colors and sizes of small UV particles called taggants."

The taggants are then analyzed and decoded by a handheld reader, called the TechMark Vericam, to identify the authenticity of the product. Although the TechMark taggants can be seen under UV light without the TechMark Vericam reader, Weinhold says that this does not offer the highest level of security. "The highest level of security is achieved by using the reader to detect and decode the signature of taggants embedded in the paper." Embedding the taggants in the fibers as opposed to the coating of the paper increases security, he says, because in order to remove the security feature, the paper would have to be destroyed.

Appleton also offers an overt and covert security feature called the TechMark Read Write Thread, which consists of a magnetic thread embedded in the paper. The thread is encrypted with information that is then decrypted by a portable handheld reader. This information provides yes/no authentication as well as a data pointer into a track-and-trace database. "The database can carry even more data pertaining to that particular product," explains Weinhold, "such as the particular manufacture date, the serial number, or whether or not the product ended up at the right 'ship to' location." The thread is encrypted with a code that is highly secure. "The only way to destroy the code," says Weinhold, "is to destroy the thread itself."

Copyright ©2002 Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News