Useful Advices - Business

What is the current state of RFID deployment in Rochester?

In general, local companies describe a high degree of interest, but only a modest level of integration.

Why the discrepancy between what local companies want to do with RFID

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

and what they are actually doing? I spoke with some of Rochester’s early adopters to put a local face on track-and-trace.

Leading folding carton manufacturer Diamond Packaging

(Henrietta, NY) is currently evaluating available technol

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

gies for in-line applications of RFID tags. “Without question, RFID is one of the hottest topics in packaging”, says Dennis Bacchetta, Marketing Manager at Diamond. “Companies are moving from ‘Does it make sense?’ to ‘How can we implem

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

nt RFID?’ ”

Indeed, RFID seems to make sense to many of the markets Diamond serves. Interest in item-level RFID tagging has been driven primarily by the pharmaceutical, personal care and cosmetic industries, which are particularly vul

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

nerable to theft and counterfeiting. RFID tags are virtually incorruptible and almost impossible to counterfeit. Other obvious benefits include impeccable accountability from the point of manufacture to the point of sale, and precise,

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

eal-time inventory control.

If a company decides that RFID makes sense for them, what are some of the implementation issues they may deal with? According to Bacchetta, “The primary challenge is ensuring compatibility with various vend

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

rs in the supply chain.”

RFID technology is so diverse in form and function that what might later be a strength is actually a limitation right now. Rick Howe, VP of Sales and Marketing at Hover-Davis, agrees. “RFID is evolving differe

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ntly than a lot of people expected. There are dozens of different technologies. There are dozens of different markets, each with different needs.”

Howe is certainly in a position to make that assessment. Hover-Davis is a Rochester-bas

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

d company that produces world class feeding systems for silicon wafers, including those used in RFID tags.

Although RFID applications currently represent less than 1% of Hover-Davis’s market, Howe sees significant growth potential onc

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

RFID integration is purified. “RFID is evolving in a step function like a lot of disruptive technologies do. There needs to be a lot more maturation of technologies before item-level tagging can happen.”

In order to advance business

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

nterests in balance with consumer concerns, EPCglobal developed and published their Guidelines on EPC for Consumer Products, designed “to allow EPC to realize its potential for consumers, retailers and suppliers, by addressing privacy

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

concerns prompted by the current state of the technology while establishing principles for dealing with its evolution and implementation.”

Rochester’s own Wegmans Food Markets is well-known for demonstrating strong principles of commu

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ity involvement. In addition to exploring internal applications for RFID, Wegmans continues to support the larger community by taking an active role in developing RFID standards.

Marianne Timmons is the director of Business to Busines

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

at Wegmans. “Wegmans is a member of EPCglobal and is exploring opportunities for a future implementation. Today Wegmans is focused on building a solid foundation for the future of EPC through their Data Synchronization efforts.”

Inte

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

rroperability may be the primary challenge of wide-scale RFID deployment, but it certainly isn’t the only one. Bacchetta identified two others: “A secondary concern is cost implications and the ability to ensure ROI. Finally, considera

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

le work needs to be done to assess and compare the various tag technologies currently available.”

Howe agrees that cost and technology diversity have caused people to redefine their understanding of RFID, and shift the benefit expecta

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ion from an item-level intervention to a middle-market tool, at least for now. “Many people thought that item-level tagging was going to become the utopia of the RFID industry. It’s actually going much more in the direction of middle-m

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

arket segments—pets, airline and ship cargo—seeping into middle-volume markets. RFID is not going to go from infancy to soup cans overnight.”

Birds Eye Foods, the nation’s leader in frozen vegetables, is a Rochester-based company acti

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

ely using RFID in their supply chain management. As local market experience continues to grow, we can expect to find more companies following suit.

Rochester is far from the brink of an RFID revolution, but everyone I spoke with for t

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

is article are optimistic about the future of RFID. “These are all challenges that are typical of any emerging technology”, Bacchetta remarked. “None are insurmountable, and I expect that all will be resolved within the next few years.

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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