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Healthcare: Zuellig Pharma
Healthcare: Zuellig Pharma
CW Innovation Awards: Fighting fake Covid-19 vaccines
with blockchain
By Aaron Tan
A blockchain-based system developed by Singapore-based Zuellig Pharma can help
governments and healthcare providers weed out fake vaccines and manage vaccine
distribution and administration
Fake Covid-19 vaccines distributed by unscrupulous criminals have made their way into the global
market in recent months, underscoring the importance of verifying the provenance and authenticity
of vaccines.
Earlier this year, South African authorities seized hundreds of fake Covid-19 vaccines following a
global alert issued by Interpol warning vaccines would be a prime target for criminal networks.
About 2,400 doses of the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston, a small city in
South Africa, where officers also recovered a large quantity of fake 3M masks and arrested three
Chinese nationals and a Zambian national.
In China, the local police identified a network selling counterfeit Covid-19 vaccines, raided the
manufacturing premises, resulting in the arrest of some 80 suspects, and seized more than 3,000
fake vaccines on the scene.
Page 1 of 5Healthcare: Zuellig Pharma
To nip the problem in the bud, Zuellig Pharma, a healthcare service provider in Asia, has developed
a blockchain-based vaccine management system called eZVax that helps governments and
healthcare providers manage all aspects of vaccine distribution and administration.
Developed together with Accenture and built with Microsoft technology, it features Zuellig
Pharma’s proprietary blockchain-based eZTracker platform that lets healthcare professionals and
patients check the quality of a vaccine and its authenticity by scanning a barcode on a vaccine vial.
eZTracker has been in use in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines since April 2020.
In addition, governments can use eZVax, which helped Zuellig Pharma win the healthcare category
in the Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC, to monitor vaccination progress, track vaccine
movements across sites, simulate changes in demand and supply and use real-time data to make
decisions on opening additional vaccination sites.
As each vaccine must be stored and distributed at their required temperature, this full traceability
provides the assurance of quality and integrity of supply. Efficient stock allocation is ensured
through automated ordering and replenishments, reverse logistics and waste management.
Individuals can also use the eZVax citizen services app to keep track of their vaccination journey
from registration to completion, schedule vaccination sessions, complete their eligibility checks and
health declarations, set up vaccination reminders and access proof of vaccination.
On security safeguards, Zuellig Pharma said the system is protected by a cyber security framework
to secure critical personal and logistical information, noting that this will promote an orderly and
effective vaccination of the population while setting up proactive defences against cyber attacks.
Page 2 of 5Healthcare: Zuellig Pharma
Tom Vanmolkot, executive vice-president for distribution and client services at Zuellig Pharma,
noted that as more Covid-19 vaccines are approved, each having their own unique requirements, it
is crucial to address the challenges that will drive vaccination uptake.
“Apart from proper storage and transport, giving people the confidence to get vaccinated is vital to
achieve herd immunity,” he said. “Collaboration is key to address this unprecedented challenge;
combining our in-market cold chain expertise and our proven blockchain solution with the
resources of leading tech companies will help us support governments to overcome these issues in
the communities we serve.”
Zuellig Pharma is currently in talks with health authorities across Asia to implement eZVax in their
countries, making scalability and integration of the system with existing healthcare systems a
crucial requirement.
And as governments and healthcare providers can choose which features of eZVax to activate and
while continuing to use their existing applications through Zuellig Pharma’s application
programming interfaces, many customisations had to be developed.
To roll out ezVax within a short time frame, Zuellig Pharma adopted a three-phase approach to
design, implement and support the system.
“The deployment of the solution was entirely driven by the arrival of the vaccines into the countries,
there was no room for delay and failure was not an option,” said Daniel Laverick, head of SAP and
IT solutions at Zuellig Pharma.
Page 3 of 5Healthcare: Zuellig Pharma
“By collaborating with our key technology partners, we formed a strategic partnership programme
to dedicate our efforts on Microsoft platform and technologies, and with this we were able to
assemble a team with the proven knowhow in delivering critical national public facing services,” he
added.
Read about other CW Innovation Awards winners
Singapore Airlines has expanded its blockchain-based digital wallet into a broader
digital lifestyle platform.
Flybuys, Australia’s biggest loyalty platform, takes 12-month journey towards the
cloud, slashing time to deliver customised offers to less than 45 minutes, among
other outcomes.
Bharat Petroleum has developed a digital nerve centre powered by the internet-of-
things and artificial intelligence technologies to monitor the journey of its products.
Sime Darby Industrial’s inService Suite has returned over 100,000 hours to the
company in a digitalisation initiative that has improved efficiency and customer
engagement.
Page 4 of 5Healthcare: Zuellig Pharma
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Check out the other winning entries in the Computer Weekly
Innovation Awards: http://www.computerweekly.com/apacawards
Images: stock.adobe.com
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