Pfizer Inc. and other leading American pharmaceutical companies have joined a project to build a blockchain network for the health and pharmaceutical industry, according to a press release on May 2.

McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Premier Inc. and Pfizer Inc. have joined the MediLedger Project Contracting and Chargebacks working group.

MediLedger — which is an initiative of San Francisco-based blockchain tech company Chronicled Inc. — is designed to reduce costs and make processes more efficient in data sharing by developing a common network. The solution will purportedly automate the contract reconciliation and chargeback processes.

Chargebacks — cancelled or disputed transactions — are a common occurrence along medial supply chains in the United States, where various actors including government programs and private insurers are involved in payment.

Per the release, the network has already succeeded in establishing a protocol for saleable return drug verification which is compliant with current 2019 Drug Supply Chain Security Act regulations. Participants’ data will purportedly be shared only with the trading partners they specifically choose, as the platform does not provide a central repository of all data.

Commenting on the cooperation, Chronicled CTO Maurizio Greco, said that "we can design [the blockchain system] so only the license holder can create records for its own products, for example. This may seem like a simple illustration, but it is revolutionary."

Blockchain has been gaining traction in the healthcare space. Recently, major health information technology provider for the U.S. government, HMS Technologies Inc. (HMS) revealed it will integrate Solve.Care's blockchain platform into their federal health information technology initiatives. The move is set to reduce government healthcare costs and improve interoperability and accessibility.

In South Korea, Gil Medical Center entered into an agreement with medical data marketplace Longenesis to create a blockchain-based health data management solution. This will purportedly increase the efficiency of data collection, improve medical research processes and ensure transparent management of patient data.