NanoGuardian joins forces with investigations firm

Brand security specialist NanoGuardian has formed an alliance with Altegrity Risk International, an investigation and security specialist, to help drugmakers detect counterfeit and diverted products in the supply chain.

The focus of their collaboration is NanoGuardian's Closed-Loop Protection programme, a tool which makes use of the firm's NanoEncryption on-dose authentication technologies, as well as randomised pharmacy auditing, to try to detect fake or illegally diverted products on pharmacy shelves.

The service is used by drugmakers to provide early detection of counterfeiting and diversion and reduce risk to patients, brands, and companies.

Altegrity brings another dimension to the Closed Loop Protection programme, as the firm can offer security consulting, investigative intelligence, and monitoring services and a network of more than 2,800 investigators across the USA and its territories.

Altegrity's managing director, Thomas McWeeney, said his company's role would be "to ensure the chain of custody of pharmaceutical products that are acquired as a part of the Closed-Loop Protection Programme."

Dean Hart, executive vice-president of NanoGuardian, told SecuringPharma.com that the NanoGuardian/Altegrity agreement is global in its scope.

"The first two Closed-Loop Protection Programmes that NanoGuardian and Altegrity will be performing are focused on securing the US supply chain," he said. International programmes will soon follow, but "dates and locations are yet to be determined by the participating manufacturers."

"Given Altegrity’s global scope and strong reputation around the world, the NanoGuardian/Altegrity relationship is an exclusive agreement," continued Hart. 

"In rare situations where Altegrity may not have personal coverage, NanoGuardian will leverage Altegrity’s vetted network of affiliate international partners," he added.

The NanoEncryption process involves the incorporation of codes directly onto capsules - as well as other dosage forms such as tablets, vial caps, and single-use syringes - to provide various overt, covert and forensic security features.


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