As pressure mounts to meet the new mandatory global serialization standards, pharmaceutical companies could learn a lot from bitcoin, the relatively new cryptocurrency. Facilitating multi-stage currency transactions has much in common with the task of effectively tracking and tracing drugs from manufacturer to consumer, enabling ‘a shared version of the truth’ about the authenticity of each pharmaceutical unit, the quality control that has been enforced throughout its handling and shipping, the auditable chain of ownership and responsibility, and much, much more.

Bitcoin is based on a technology known as blockchain – a distributed ledger that permits data to be broadcast to all authorized stakeholders in the supply chain but forbids fake data. It is ideal when the supply chain involves many parties that are geographically spread, with high potential for mistrust and a pressing need for security, privacy and fraud prevention.

For some months now, DHL and Accenture have been evaluating the usability and scalability of blockchain technology in the life sciences and healthcare industry. In fact, we have established a working prototype that tracks pharmaceuticals from the point of origin to the consumer, preventing tampering and errors. It counts with nodes in six geographies to track pharmaceuticals across the supply chain. The ledger tracking these medicines may be shared with stakeholders, including manufacturers, warehouses, distributors, pharmacies, hospitals and doctors. Lab-simulations show how blockchain could handle more than seven billion unique serial numbers and 1,500 transactions per second.

Now we want to prove the concept of blockchain by taking this system out of the lab environment and running pilots with life sciences and healthcare customers. If your organization is interested in this collaborative opportunity, please get in touch. To explore how you might rapidly build, test and assess blockchain capabilities within your own business, please watch our brief introductory video. In addition, DHL and Accenture have jointly published an important trend report on blockchain in logistics which helps to separate facts from hype, showing how this technology might unlock hidden value in logistics. Access this report here.

A (bitcoin) penny for your thoughts? Are you ready to apply this technology? I think it makes sense to prepare. Blockchain may soon be capable of disrupting the life sciences and healthcare industry as much as it is now disrupting the global economy.