Politech: Drug firm joins with police to stop thefts with RFID [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Politech] Drugmaker Teams With Law Enforcement To Use RFID To 
Halt Thefts
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 21:59:05 -0500
From: Stephanie <sjwinter () fastmail fm>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>

Declan, for Politech if you wish:

http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=53700524

Drugmaker Teams With Law Enforcement To Use RFID To Halt Thefts Nov. 18,
2004

Purdue Pharma will provide RFID technology and training to help stop thefts
of OxyContin.
By Elena Malykhina

Pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma LP is working closely with
law-enforcement agencies to use radio-frequency identification technology to
protect shipments of OxyContin, Purdue's painkiller drug that's a frequent
target for theft. This week Purdue said it will even donate handheld RFID
scanning equipment to law-enforcement and cargo-theft investigative agencies
around the country.
Purdue is also starting a pilot program this week to use RFID tags on
shipments of 100-tablet bottles of OxyContin to two of its largest
customers, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug Co., to help
prevent theft during distribution.

RFID can be used to create an electronic drug pedigree, a tracking mechanism
that follows products from the manufacturer to the wholesaler and finally to
the pharmacy, says Aaron Graham, VP and chief security officer at Purdue.
Pedigrees can help law-enforcement officers quickly determine the original
source of a drug confiscated during robbery and burglary investigations--a
process that currently takes months to investigate using paper records, says
Tom Stone, executive director of the FBI Law Enforcement Executive
Development Association.

[...remainder snipped...]
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