Chronicled, Inc., a San Francisco-based technology company, and the LinkLab, a life sciences supply chain consultancy, have launched a serialized "track and trace" pilot for the pharmaceutical industry.

Launched at a one-day event in San Francisco, the pilot aims to build an electronic, interoperable system to identify and track prescription drugs as they are distributed in the U.S. The primary objective is to help better protect consumers by improving counterfeit detection and removal of potentially dangerous medicines.

During the event, the startup gathered feedback on the launch of a blockchain-based compliance protocol for that will satisfy the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). According to the official release, the event marked the first phase of a pilot to develop an interoperable platform for the pharmaceutical industry. Representatives from global pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, hospitals, and leading blockchain and enterprise IT companies were in attendance.

Chronicled and the LinkLab have partnered to bring a blockchain-supported DSCSA protocol and compliance solution to market. With this solution, the companies aim to provide the pharmaceutical industry with a less expensive, less cumbersome, and more secure approach to meeting existing regulatory requirements. The project’s goal is to develop around GS1 standards and to emphasize data privacy.

“The first phase of this project is to prove that one global pharmaceutical manufacturer can comply with their DSCSA regulatory obligations and meet the 2017 and 2023 requirements,” said Susanne Somerville, co-founder of the LinkLab. She continued, “we are excited to be partnering with a major pharmaceutical player in this first phase.”

The subsequent phases will see the involvement of multiple players in the pharma supply chain, from manufacturer to pharmacy and hospitals, in order to establish a minimum viable ecosystem. In the future, these pilots may allow the industry to automate the flow of goods, finances, and documents leveraging smart contracts, the release said.

“We will be working closely with teams at leading enterprise blockchain projects over the coming months to identify the most suitable enterprise blockchain to serve as a data utility for the pharmaceutical industry,” said Samantha Radocchia, CPO and Co-founder at Chronicled.