CRO WuXi PharmaTech, with operations in China and the U.S., and TruTag Technologies, developer of an edible, covert security platform to address the global product counterfeiting challenge, have announced that WuXi Corporate Venture Fund has made an investment in TruTag.

In addition, WuXi and TruTag will explore collaborations to offer WuXi's global customers the TruTag on-dose authentication solution to help prevent counterfeiting and to enhance drug safety.

TruTag microtags are inert and edible and can integrate into the fabric of a product without packaging or labels for the authentication of food, drugs, electronics, consumer products and industrial components. Millions of optical patterns can be embedded into a TruTag, a dust-sized particle smaller than the width of a human hair. Using this technology, brand owners, including pharmaceutical companies, will be able to field-read finished tablets circulating in the wholesale and retail market to determine the authenticity and provenance of medicines, including detailed information such as site and date of manufacture, lots and other critical data.

"TruTag is very excited to work with WuXi to explore the development of our on-dose authentication solution for WuXi's pharmaceutical customers," said Dr. Hank C.K. Wuh, chairman of TruTag Technologies. "This innovative technology is an important new weapon in fighting the growing global problem of counterfeit drugs."