SupplyScape Receives First-in-Industry Certification from EPCglobal Inc™
Woburn, Mass., June 7, 2007 -- SupplyScape Corporation, the leading provider of value chain software to drive maximum business value and product security in the pharmaceutical supply chain, today announced that its E-Pedigree data management solution has been awarded EPCglobal Drug Pedigree Messaging Standard certification from GS1 EPCglobal Inc.
A long-standing member of EPCglobal, SupplyScape was recognized as one of the first companies to have its E-Pedigree software successfully pass rigorous testing and earn EPCglobal certified status. The certification mark was awarded at the EPCglobal Health and Life Sciences Meeting of the GS1 U Connect Conference on June 6 in Orlando, Florida.
"SupplyScape is dedicated to open and interoperable standards for the pharmaceutical industry," noted Shabbir Dahod, president and CEO of SupplyScape. "It is gratifying that SupplyScape is one of the first in the industry to receive this certification for our E-Pedigree software. The widespread adoption of the EPCglobal Drug Pedigree Messaging Standard creates a foundation of precise and timely information that will transform the pharmaceutical value chain."
E-Pedigree's certification acknowledges that the software performs according to defined EPCglobal standards criteria and has passed comprehensive testing by MET Laboratories, an independent, nationally recognized testing facility.
E-Pedigree's certification also underscores the significant commitment the company has made to support the development and adoption of EPCglobal standards. SupplyScape was instrumental in developing the EPCglobal Drug Pedigree Messaging standard, contributing its electronic pedigree intellectual property toward the standard and working closely with the industry and EPCglobal over the past three years to secure introduction of the standard.
SupplyScape's leadership within EPCglobal and the pharmaceutical industry is also reflected in its active participation in the Track & Trace, Supply Chain Integrity, EPCIS, Serialization, and RFID standards working groups. The company is also helping to educate the industry through a series of business value webinars that have been attended by more than 200 people from over 50 pharmaceutical companies, on the new standard and how to adopt it to improve drug security throughout the supply chain.
Over 50 SupplyScape customers are leading the industry in the adoption of the EPCglobal Drug Pedigree Standard. These companies span all segments and include the top brand and generic pharmaceutical companies, the largest retailer and chain pharmacies, wholesalers, and specialty distributors in oncology, repackaging, vaccines, and veterinary.
"By choosing software with an EPCglobal Software Compliance Certification Mark, the end-user can be confident that the software will perform according to defined EPCglobal standards," said Chris Adcock, president of EPCglobal Inc. "With this information readily available, they will have more time to focus their resources on completing pilots and capturing information."
The EPCglobal Pedigree Messaging Standard defines a standard format for a pedigree message that meets all current Federal and State Pedigree requirements. These include California's electronic pedigree law, as well as all state pedigree laws and regulations and the federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA). The standard was ratified in January of this year and represents the only standard approved for the open, interoperable exchange of drug pedigrees.
"The pharmaceutical industry is highly motivated to reduce counterfeiting and ensure patient safety. Adoption of electronic pedigrees is a way to accomplish that," remarked Carol Rozwell, Vice President and Distinguished Analyst, Gartner, Inc. "The EPCglobal standard is a vendor neutral approach that facilitates a level of commercial software interoperability needed to verify chain of custody across the supply chain."
In specifying the format that enables regulatory compliance, the EPCglobal Drug Pedigree Standard accommodates a variety of approaches in use today across the drug distribution channel and provides extensibility into the future. Electronic pedigrees are the focus of the standard, but it also specifies how paper pedigrees can be scanned and embedded into the electronic pedigree record. Numerous product serialization approaches can be used, including RFID, many types of barcode, or no product serialization at all.
