OPTEL buys Verify to complete five levels of track & trace
Verify Brand provides L4 and L5 serialisation capabilities including data and network management, and analytics to companies involved in the distribution of pharmaceutical products.
“The addition of Verify Brand’s L4/5 serialisation capabilities to the OPTEL solution set enables the connectivity required for pharma companies to implement Track & Trace across the entire supply chain (L1 to L5),” OPTEL spokesperson Erica Boisvert told us.
OPTEL will retain all Verify Brand employees, said Boisvert, adding that the firm now employs nearly 900 people.
Boisvert did not disclose how much it paid for Verify Brand.
Verify customers
Verify Brand told existing customers there will be no company name, branding or personnel changes at this time.
“We anticipate no foreseeable impact to any ongoing or pipelines projects,” the firm said in a statement.
The company will not force its customers to choose OPTEL as their on line provider, and will continue to remain impartial, it said.
Other global serialisation system operators include TraceLink and SEA Vision, headquartered in the US and Italy respectively.
“If you are already an OPTEL customer, however you will immediately begin to realise the benefits from an end-to-end- solution (L1-L5) that combines OPTEL’s visioning, mechanics and robotics with our serialisation and traceability software,” said Verify Brand.
Serialisation deadlines
The US serialisation deadline passed on November 26.
However, in July the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would delay enforcement to give marketing authority holders (MAHs) and contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) more time to comply with the regulations to avoid disruptions to drug supplies.
In Europe, separate yet comparable track & trace legislation introduced under the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) comes into effect on February 9, 2019.
