Antares Vision Group, a partner in the digitalization of products and supply chains for companies and institutions, and a specialist in traceability and inspection for quality control, played a key role in the latest phase of an ongoing study by Michigan State University’s The Axia Institute (Axia) that tests the feasibility of applying RFID technology to streamline pharma traceability throughout the supply chain. For the study’s second phase – the results of which have been published by Axia, part of MSU’s Office of Research and Innovation – Antares Vision Group provided mission-critical serialization software, and shared its decades of expertise and traceability leadership to help inform and optimize the study’s procedures.

The most recent effort comprised Phase 2 of Axia’s End-to-End RFID Pilot program. The study’s initial phase demonstrated the technical feasibility of applying RFID to various drug formulations and pharmaceutical packaging types in a laboratory setting; Phase 2 significantly expanded the scope to test the robustness and interoperability of RFID across the pharmaceutical supply chain, in alignment with GS1 standards and the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requirements.

The overall project hinges upon the development of the Axia Observer Platform, an IoT-based software solution designed to track materials across the supply chain using both RFID scans and Electronic Product Code Information Service (EPCIS) supply chain event data. The system is designed to provide real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, master data integration and product flow integration, among other attributes.

Antares Vision Group provided its traceability solution to meet the tracking and compliance reporting required under DSCSA, which are essential to protecting patient safety. As one of the global leaders in pharmaceutical serialization and supply chain security, Antares Vision Group brought the experience, systems, and operational comprehension needed to ensure the pilot reflected the realities of daily industry operations while fully aligning with regulatory requirements.

For Phase 2 of the pilot program, testing was conducted using four full pallets of pharmaceutical products comprising varying formulations and packaging sizes. Crucially, experiments transpired across diverse environments – including the Axia Lab, which simulated manufacturing and pharmacy settings; and the nearby distribution center of partner company Cencora.

By any measure, Phase 2 results were exceptionally encouraging. The prototype RFID system successfully tracked each of the nearly 7,000 individual products, with all inconsistencies automatically identified and corrected in real-time. This 100% success rate clearly demonstrates the system’s value as a scalable complement to barcoding for DSCSA and other international compliance regulations.

“The results of this pilot reaffirm the critical role that serialization and track-and-trace technologies play in securing the pharmaceutical supply chain,” states Herb Wong, chief customer officer, Antares Vision Group. “By integrating our serialization solutions with advanced RFID and real-time monitoring platforms, we’re able to drive both compliance and operational efficiencies for our partners. This successful collaboration with Axia demonstrates a clear path toward scalable, DSCSA-compliant digitization.”