Partnership Aims to Tackle FDA and State Pharmaceutical Requirements

RONKONKOMA, N.Y.—VAI, a provider of enterprise solutions for the distribution, manufacturing, retail and service industries, has forged a partnership with San Ramon, Calif.-based rfXcel Corporation to provide pharmaceutical pedigree tracking capabilities to the S2K Enterprise Software package.

Pedigree tracking is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state requirement that compels pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to track drugs throughout every step of the supply chain—from origin to destination.

rfXcel produces ePedigree Management, a real-time software suite allowing manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to track the chain of custody of prescription drugs through the pharmaceutical supply chain. As a VAI third party vendor, rfXcel’s software will work with VAI’s S2K Enterprise Solutions to maintain an electronic record of all receipts, shipments and other transactions for accurate pedigree tracking.

Originally the e-pedigree requirements were slated to go into effect in many states throughout the country beginning on January 1, 2009, but despite a lengthy lead time, many companies complained that they would not be ready in time.

The slower-than-expected pace of adoption of RFID technologies has been one of the many issues that have bogged down the adoption of e-pedigree technologies. Companies also complained that they needed additional time to test their systems and work with supply-chain partners.

VAI’s partnership with rfXcel hopes to quicken the pace of adoption.

“This relationship will provide a pedigree tracking solution that is comprehensive, integrated and reliable,” said Dan Bivona, director of sales for VAI.