Pharma company links with solution providers in partnership intended to arm industry with long-term strategy for regulatory compliance
Scottsdale, AZ — June 29, 2006 — Pharmaceuticals company McKesson Corporation has joined forces with software companies Cyclone Commerce and Axway to work on solutions for supply chain safety and security intended to be the catalyst for new and emerging technologies for both regulatory compliance and inventory management for the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Cyclone Commerce and Axway are currently integrating operations following their January merger. Axway and Cyclone are a division of Paris-based Sopra Group, SA.
Prior to its merger with Axway, Cyclone Commerce first enlisted McKesson's industry expertise in developing the Cyclone ePedigree product, an electronic tracking system for manufacturers, distributors, retailers and healthcare providers, when the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) outlined expectations for radio frequency identification (RFID) to be used widely as part of an electronic pedigree system by 2007.
Axway has since been working to meet the industry's needs for a longer-term strategy around serialization, product authentication and track and trace, while delivering ePedigree as a realistic approach for commercial supply chains today. As regulatory requirements evolve, the solution provider believes that supply chain players will benefit from operational improvements, such as increased service levels, improved in-stock rates and shorter order-to-cash cycles.
"As a leading drug distributor, we are in direct contact with each point of the supply chain and are therefore extremely invested in its safety," said Kim Loughead, director of emerging technologies at McKesson. "Our expanded relationship with Axway is designed to address the industry's need to safeguard patients and drive costs out of the supply chain."
In the 2004 report "Combating Counterfeit Drugs: A Report of the Food and Drug Administration" the FDA stated: "Because the capabilities of counterfeiters continue to evolve rapidly, there is no single 'magic bullet' technology that provides any long-term assurance of drug security. However, a combination of rapidly improving 'track-and-trace' technologies and product authentication technologies should provide a much greater level of security for drug products in the years ahead."
"The FDA has set its expectations for the direction of the industry," said Daryl Eicher, vice president of healthcare and industry solutions at Cyclone Commerce. "To date, pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and retailers are only focusing on solutions for individual safety-based supply chain initiatives, such as ePedigree. Our partnership with McKesson combines technical and domain expertise to position us as the industry's answer to securing the supply chain, now and as new mandates emerge."
Additional Articles of Interest
— Stryker Instruments achieved success in inventory optimization by taking a no-frills approach and relying on collaborative supplier relations. Read more in "Keeping Supply Chain Transformation Simple," the Best Practices case study in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— As you read this, someone in your corporation is treading the ethical line because of expediency, undue pressure or because they don't know better. How can we protect our organizations from flawed reciprocal business awards, conflicts of interest and a myriad of other issues? Read more in "Ethics and Procurement: The Case for Full Disclosure," the Final Thoughts column in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
Scottsdale, AZ — June 29, 2006 — Pharmaceuticals company McKesson Corporation has joined forces with software companies Cyclone Commerce and Axway to work on solutions for supply chain safety and security intended to be the catalyst for new and emerging technologies for both regulatory compliance and inventory management for the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Cyclone Commerce and Axway are currently integrating operations following their January merger. Axway and Cyclone are a division of Paris-based Sopra Group, SA.
Prior to its merger with Axway, Cyclone Commerce first enlisted McKesson's industry expertise in developing the Cyclone ePedigree product, an electronic tracking system for manufacturers, distributors, retailers and healthcare providers, when the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) outlined expectations for radio frequency identification (RFID) to be used widely as part of an electronic pedigree system by 2007.
Axway has since been working to meet the industry's needs for a longer-term strategy around serialization, product authentication and track and trace, while delivering ePedigree as a realistic approach for commercial supply chains today. As regulatory requirements evolve, the solution provider believes that supply chain players will benefit from operational improvements, such as increased service levels, improved in-stock rates and shorter order-to-cash cycles.
"As a leading drug distributor, we are in direct contact with each point of the supply chain and are therefore extremely invested in its safety," said Kim Loughead, director of emerging technologies at McKesson. "Our expanded relationship with Axway is designed to address the industry's need to safeguard patients and drive costs out of the supply chain."
In the 2004 report "Combating Counterfeit Drugs: A Report of the Food and Drug Administration" the FDA stated: "Because the capabilities of counterfeiters continue to evolve rapidly, there is no single 'magic bullet' technology that provides any long-term assurance of drug security. However, a combination of rapidly improving 'track-and-trace' technologies and product authentication technologies should provide a much greater level of security for drug products in the years ahead."
"The FDA has set its expectations for the direction of the industry," said Daryl Eicher, vice president of healthcare and industry solutions at Cyclone Commerce. "To date, pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and retailers are only focusing on solutions for individual safety-based supply chain initiatives, such as ePedigree. Our partnership with McKesson combines technical and domain expertise to position us as the industry's answer to securing the supply chain, now and as new mandates emerge."
Additional Articles of Interest
— Stryker Instruments achieved success in inventory optimization by taking a no-frills approach and relying on collaborative supplier relations. Read more in "Keeping Supply Chain Transformation Simple," the Best Practices case study in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— As you read this, someone in your corporation is treading the ethical line because of expediency, undue pressure or because they don't know better. How can we protect our organizations from flawed reciprocal business awards, conflicts of interest and a myriad of other issues? Read more in "Ethics and Procurement: The Case for Full Disclosure," the Final Thoughts column in the April/May 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
- More articles about Cyclone Commerce.
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