RFID Technology Resurgent in the Market

Throughout the last few years, it was often the case that radio frequency identification (RFID) was dismissed as a non starter, because despite being a promising piece of technology, it faced many issues.

These included the likes of it not being scaleable, its lack of integration with existing technology such as barcodes, and privacy issues as well as often being very expensive.|

However, Jeremy Friedler of Maxiom Group said that there has been a resurgence in the use of RFID technology in recent times, especially thanks to the fact that a swell in the number of chips sold has been reported by Impinj.

RFID is resurgent because it has the means within which to plug a gap in the market. That is to say that RFID can improve the efficiency and visibility thereof in the transportation of drugs, looking at integrity of temperature control and anti-counterfeit measures.

An uninterrupted flow of data between producer and customer also means an improvement in the likes of aftercare and other aspects of pharmaceuticals.

Friedler said that it showed what happens when time is taken over the use of new technology, adding that it "holds significant promise for the Healthcare and Life Sciences industries, particularly with regards to the security and efficiency of pharmaceutical supply chains."

The resurgence in RFID as a technology for use in the cold chain was also promoted by Paul Thomas, senior editor, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Magazine, who said that the products were coming down in price all the time, causing more people to invest, adding that it has some of its best uses in monitoring cold chain temperatures.