Dear Pharma, Here’s a Token Solution for Your Supply Chain Challenges!

Have we wondered why in a world of autonomous vehicles and “smart” everything we have not been able to crack the code on the counterfeit medicine epidemic? Perhaps the world of Pharma has relied too much on policy to combat the problem; instead, we – consumers, patients, and technologists – need to look to technology as the token solution to the problem.

We know that supply chain management is not easy. Today’s supply chains are complex, centralized and siloed. These three factors have easily facilitated the growth of the counterfeit pharmaceuticals market. The trusted pharma supply chain network - drug manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and everyone in between, especially patients - are directly impacted by “fake drugs.” Further compounding the problem is the growing use of internet pharmacies.

Did you know?

Up to 90,000 websites peddling alleged prescription drugs operate on any given day, but studies show that up to 95% of these websites are illegitimate (source: The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CISP)).

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission passed their own track-and-trace regulations (the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (EUFMD), respectively) which are set to come into full effect in 2018. The Pharma Industry is to implement a track-and-trace system by which manufacturers must affix product identifiers to each package of product that is introduced into the supply chain. In the US, it requires traceability across the entire supply chain, from Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) to packaged good within a global network of companies that lack a data sharing framework and includes raw material suppliers, manufacturers, third party logistics, wholesalers, and pharmacies.

Policy actions are necessary and good to have, but at the end of the day, it’s just paper. The reality is, pharmaceutical manufacturers do not have an effective way to securely, transparently and rapidly track the provenance of their product and access the data required to combat the illicit sales and/or distribution of counterfeit medicine. Therefore, what is really going to make the supply chain secure?

Here is Your “Token” Solution to Combat Counterfeit Medicine

The BlockRx? Pharma Ecosystem is built on three critical components:

·      The Sawtooth Blockchain by Intel? to host and share relevant data

·      Advanced Digital Ledger Technology (ADLT?) by iSolve to integrate legacy systems with the blockchain

·      The BlockRx Token to incentivize blockchain entries and data exchange

For this track-and-trace system to function effectively, it will require a secure, transparent, and distributed technology solution: the blockchain.

Why the Blockchain?

Think of the blockchain as a mall with all the pharma companies as stores within the mall that buy and sell products from each other. To be a store in the mall or purchase anything in the mall, you must have a digital key, a digital token, and follow the rules defined by the mall. Any purchase that happens anywhere in the mall is broadcast to all the stores, who record that purchase in their own books. This way, everyone has the same record, written in their own book, of all the purchases that were ever made in the mall.

Why the Token to Incentivize the Blockchain?

Companies participating in the pharmaceutical supply chain face many financial pressures, including efforts to remain complaint with local as well as foreign regulations. Enforcing the DSCSA and EUFMD will add an additional financial burden, as the regulation requires changes in process as well as additional software and infrastructure. By incentivizing the BlockRx Pharma Ecosystem, participating entities will have a means to reduce their operational costs in deploying a blockchain solution and offset the burden of remaining complaint.

The BlockRx Token

In order to maximize the productivity of such an ambitious project, BlockRx has decided to attract investments from the public in the form of an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). That being said, BlockRx is making 120 million BockRx Tokens available for public purchase.

Benefits to Pharma

Pharma industry participants leveraging the BlockRx solution will be rewarded tokens by providing data, consensus, or hosting a node. The annual token reward will depend on a participant’s level of activity, the type of node they host, and the negotiations between participants for the gathering, analysis, and provision of data.

Benefits to Individuals

Non-Pharma Industry owners of the BlockRx? Token will benefit from Token ownership due to utilization and exchange throughout the Pharma Ecosystem and the opportunity to participate in one of two Master Nodes: Wealth Focused and Charitable Focused. In both cases, the owners of the BlockRx? Token will add tokens to these nodes via a Smart Contract for the industry to purchase. When the Master Node generates revenue, the revenue will then be shared in proportion to their contribution. While the exact distribution from each node has not been determined, the idea is that in a Wealth generating node, for example, 90% of the revenue will go to those that deposit tokens, 5% will go to charity, and 5% to iSolve for maintaining the Master Node. In a Charitable-focused Master Node, 90% would go to Health Care related charities, 5% will be redistributed to those that deposit the tokens, and 5% to iSolve for maintaining the node.

To learn more about the BlockRx Pharma Ecosystem and the BlockRx Token, visit www.BlockRx.com or follow us @BlockRxProject #BlockRxToken