Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups in the packaging industry. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. So, let’s take a look at promising serialization solutions for pharma packaging.
Heat Map: 5 Top Serialization Startups
For our 5 picks of serialization startups, we used a data-driven startup scouting approach to identify the most relevant solutions globally. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 interesting examples out of 400 relevant solutions. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.
Kezzler – Track & Trace
Track & trace systems begin with serialization but generally have additional components – understanding the movement of a product along the different stages of the supply chain; serial number verification to ensure its legitimacy at the point of delivery; reporting to responsible government agencies or other supply chain partners if required. Norway-based Kezzler provides pharmaceutical companies with assurances of authenticity with the security and scalability required. It enables companies to track their products through the cost-efficient application kezzlercodes.
Labelink – Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)
Support for the pharmaceutical supply chain, goods transport, quality control, and counterfeit rejection are the most common use cases of RFID technologies. Also, it provides a useful platform for assuring quality after a product has left the factory (unacceptable conditions during transport and storage or other), improving the efficiency of business processes and streamlining supply chain management. Labelink from Canada use RFID to fight counterfeits, to reduce errors, to improve shipment verification and to reduce handling times.
Covectra – Holograms
Printed shrink films with holographic seals, security stickers or labels with unique symbols are cost-effective and functional ways to keep the integrity of a product secure. Specialty seals not only provide protective packaging, but also mark products against counterfeiting and tampering. US-based Covectra provides brand protection and serialization solutions for pharmaceutical companies. Their StellaGuard security label embeds a copy-detect pattern of holographic symbols on their proprietary label film when it is manufactured. Connecting it with the serialized barcode, it creates two-layered protection.
Pineberry – Smart Codes
Within the pharmaceutical industry, the use and application of smart codes are driven by traceability and the fight against counterfeits as well as the need to record/read expiry/use by dates at the point of sale or distribution. Pineberry’s CartonTrac Serialization and Aggregation System builds a parent-child relationship as products move through the packaging stages of the pharmaceutical supply chain. It automatically combines individual serialized cartons and takes a picture of all fixed and variable serialized track and trace data using specially printed text and barcodes.
Rolling Optics – 3D-Sealing Labels
3D-sealing labels are combined with QR-codes to display both printed and covert graphics providing several levels of security against falsifying, tampering, diversion and warranty fraud. Swedish Rolling Optics provides high-quality security solutions to protect and authenticate products in one simple view without any tools or special readers. Once the 3D imagery has been set, it is impossible to remove the label without being destroyed.
What About The Other 395 Serialization Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence for your Proof of Concept (PoC), partnership, or investment targets. The 5 serialization startups showcased above are promising examples out of 400 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria and collaboration strategy, get in touch.