Solidsoft Reply, the Reply group Company who specialise in enterprise strength solutions on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, has signed an agreement to implement and operate the National Medicines Verification System in Lithuania.
Solidsoft Reply have signed the agreement with the newly incorporated, not-for-profit Lithuanian National Medicine Verification Organisation who is responsible for the implementation of the EU’s Falsified Medicines Directive (Directive 2011/62/EU) in Lithuania. The Falsified Medicines Directive, published by the European Parliament and the European Commission, states that each eligible medicinal product must have a unique identifier and tamper-evident seal to allow for the authentication of each medicine pack at the point of dispensing. From February 2019, all countries within the European Union must have a National Medicines Verification System that is connected to the European Medicines Verification System to allow the identification and authentication of a medicine to be verified, to prevent counterfeit drugs from entering the supply chain.
A National Blueprint System provider was selected by a working group representing all key stakeholders in Lithuanian pharmaceutical industry. Leonas Kalėtinas, provisional manager of the National Medicine Verification Organisation, said that he “had been impressed with Solidsoft Reply’s overall system knowledge and the ultra-modern technology that has been used to create a solution that exactly meets their needs”. He added that “he was looking forward to continue to work with Solidsoft Reply on this ground-breaking and very important project in Lithuania”.
Solidsoft Reply was previously selected by the European Medicines Verification Organisation (EMVO) to implement the European Medicines Verification Hub. This enables medicine manufacturers and parallel distributors to upload their pack data which is then routed to appropriate national systems. The Solidsoft Reply National Blueprint solution, has been designed from the ground up to meet the exact needs of the Falsified Medicines Directive. It is implemented using the very latest Microsoft technology and built on the Microsoft Azure Cloud. The futureproofed solution allows for agility and flexibility to respond to the requirements of the industry as they evolve over time and to utlise the new features and benefits of the Microsoft Azure stack. The solution automatically scales ensuring that the challenging response times can always be achieved.
As the sixth country to engage Solidsoft Reply to implement their certified National Blueprint Solution, Lithuania joins an increasing list of European markets including Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Bulgaria and Slovenia.
The European Medicines Verification Organisation (EMVO) represent the key stakeholders in the European pharmaceutical supply chain, EFPIA, Medicines for Europe, EAEPC, GIRP and PGEU.
The Lithuanian National Medicine Verification Organisation has been established through a collaboration between key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry. Its founder members include: the Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry Association, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, the Lithuanian Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and the Association of Lithuanian Pharmacies.