SMART PACKAGING & PRINTED ELECTRONICS
Visibility and support for the pharma industry
Avery Dennison, a global leader in materials science and digital identification solutions, is partnering with Controlant, a specialist in digital transformation of pharmaceutical supply chains, to enhance real-time, end-to-end visibility and support sustainability initiatives in the industry.
The Saga Card extends visibility further into the pharma supply chain and benefits everyone from company to consumer. Image: Avery Dennison
In collaboration with Controlant Avery Dennison will release the Saga Card, which consists of multiple components including a cellular modem with LTE-M and NB-IoT (narrowband IoT), an integrated nuSIM, a zincbased battery and sensors. According to a joint company statement, the partnership between Avery Dennison and Controlant will combine expertise in digital ID technology, advanced and global R2R manufacturing as well as commercial reach together to support this innovative solution. Leading the design and manufacture of a of IoT devices is Avery Dennison. The Saga Card is an innovative, compact and energy-efficient monitoring device designed to improve visibility throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain. When integrated with Controlant’s Aurora cloud platform, it provides real-time inventory visibility at multiple geographic levels, benefiting pharmaceutical companies, packaging providers and logistics companies in the industry. The device collects data as medicines pass through multiple transfer points on their way to patients, enabling pharmaceutical companies to improve inventory management and reduce waste.
CEO and co-founder of Controlant, Gisli Herjolfsson, says: "With $35 billion lost in the pharmaceutical industry every year due to failures in temperaturecontrolled logistics, the benefits of end-to-end visibility into the flow of medicines and vaccines down to the unit level creates an incredible opportunity to revolutionize how the pharma supply chain operates. Saga Card has been developed in collaboration with our consortium partners including Avery Dennison, and will have a significant impact on minimizing waste, ensuring patient safety, and bringing us closer to zero-waste pharma supply chains." Barbara van Rymenam, Senior Director of Healthcare at Avery Dennison, adds: "The pharma industry has long lacked an effective real-time, end-to-endsupply chain visibility solution. Due to the highly regulated and complex supply network, industry adoption of new technologies is typically slow. These parameters call for a specific set of knowledge and expertise to bring a solution to the market that ticks all the boxes. The new IoT device extends the visibility to the point of care or the patient by tracking the product on the unit case level, addressing the needs of the dynamic cold chain market where selecting the right solutions is crucial based on the value, urgency, and requirements of the medicines being shipped."
www.rfid.averydennison.com www.controlant.com