A conference to be held next week in the US is to discuss the importance of serialisation on pharma labels as a way of keeping track of drugs and other products.

PACK EXPO will take place in Las Vegas and is to see a number of industry insiders come together to speak about track-and-trace capabilities, hardware, software and integration solutions, PharmPro.com reports.

Interest in adding serial numbers to printed labels is on the rise, something that could be down to its ability to better monitor variations in speed or product weight, sales, returns and stock levels.

However, the phenomenon may require changes to current packaging, something delegates in Las Vegas will be able to hear about.

"The processes and procedures used in a packaging operation need to be modified to reflect the fact that each unit of packaging has a unique identity," Chris Riley from Pharma pointed out.

Back in April, Mark Davison of Blue Sphere Health told SecuringPharma.com that serialisation on peelable labels could have huge benefits to the pharmaceutical industry, particularly when products have to be recalled.

Denny Bros Ltd, 23 September 2011