What a difference a few years make. Two years ago at New York's Interphex show, SupplyScape's chief strategy officer Robin Koh spoke before a standing-room-only audience about RFID's potential and what it could mean in terms of drug product authentication.
This year, Koh spoke before an audience of, well, three---two, not counting the press (i.e., me). Perhaps it was because his topic---the success of the Drug Security Network pilot, the first test run for a comprehensive electronic pedigree program---wasn't quite as sexy as RFID was two years ago. But it also has something to do with the fact that the e-pedigree topic just hasn't put fear into manufacturers the way that RFID and the Wal-Mart mandate did.
The funny thing is, Koh says, is that unlike RFID for authentication, e-pedigrees (whether done via RFID or not) are actually required by law---and stiffer laws are not far on the horizon. Florida's new law takes effect July 1, California's January 1, 2007.
The California legislation should really get manufacturers attention, Koh says, because it places the responsibility of initiating an end-to-end e-pedigree solution on the shoulders of the manufacturer. And anyone thinking that the states will exercise leniency will probably be mistaken, Koh says.
A head's up: April's edition of Pharma Track & Trace will have an interview with Koh. Here's a summary of what individual states are up to.
--PWT
