Pharmacode or pharmaceutical binary code is a barcode standard used in the pharmaceutical industry as a packing control system, it is readable despite printing errors and can be printed in multiple colours, which are used to protect pharmaceutical companies from legal liability and is a must for Pharmaceutical traceability. It would allow you to see the origin and other information about the drugs, as well as tracking forward to see the route of the product up until the sale. This would be the core of any form of Pharma track and trace system. GS1 US defines traceability (in healthcare) as the process that “enables you to see the movement of prescription drugs or medical devices across the supply chain. You can trace back to identify the history of the transfers and locations of a product, from the point of manufacture onwards. And you can track forwards to see the intended route of the product towards the point of care.”

There are three key elements in traceability, they are serialization, track and trace and finally verification. Serialisation is establishing a unique identity at a certain level of granularity in packaging for products that are produced by the manufacturer.  When you say ‘track and trace in the supply chain,’ usually what you’re trying to do is say I would like to know information about the drug products that are produced, distributed, and dispensed in the supply chain, and information about what happens—what events occur—to those drug products as they move from manufacturer to dispenser and (ultimately) into the patient’s hand. Tracking is often times thought of as more of a forward view—where is a product right now in the supply chain and capturing information about that product as it moves through the supply chain. Tracing is more of a historical view—let me see where the product has been or who has owned it.

Tracepack can supply labelers, print and apply systems as well as coding systems such as lasers, TIJ and High resolutions printers which are used to mark Pharma codes or serialization or apply labels with the codes printed on them which forms the basis of any track and trace solution. Our brands are the most reliable, tried and tested models of marking, coding and labelling equipment available.

With the growing counterfeit pharmaceutical industry, the biggest concern for manufacturers and consumers is whether the products are genuine, by making use of a track and trace solution, pharmaceutical products can be traced from end to end. Additional security features such as tamper evident labels or closures, special inks with luminescence or taggants added or UV visible inks as well as Pelta codes, which are 2D codes with a second encrypted layer of information, we can offer multiple levels of protection on pharmaceutical packaging. Our equipment ranges encompass all technologies that would be used to mark from the item to the display box, outer wrap and shipper.

Contact us for advice on the best solution for you: +27 10 020 7221 and sales@tracepack.co.za