The pharmaceutical industry has long faced challenges of counterfeit, adulterated, or expired drugs entering the supply chain. Fake versions of popular drugs like Ozempic^®, oxytocin and others routinely make their way to consumers outside of the manufacturer’s authorized supply chain. These threats not only undermine consumer trust, but can pose significant safety risks to patients. 

The Axia Institute at Michigan State University recently completed its Pharma End-to-End RFID Pilot, testing the feasibility of RAIN Radio-Frequency Identification, or RFID, technology for traceability of pharmaceutical products through the supply chain.

 Ozempic^® is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S.

Phase 2 achieved 100% traceability across a simulated real-world supply chain, demonstrating the robustness and interoperability of RFID across the pharmaceutical supply chain. Phase 1, completed in October 2023, demonstrated the technical feasibility of applying RFID to various drug formulations and pharmaceutical packaging types in a lab setting, with the lowest readability rate of 96.50%.

“This work represents a significant step toward building a more secure, error-proof, and digitally integrated pharmaceutical supply chain — one that can track and record product information at every stage, from production through distribution to the point of sale,” said Bahar Aliakbarian, MSU research associate professor and senior director of Research and Development at the Axia Institute and Axia Lab.