Sproxil Wins Patents for Humanity Award from

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Program Recognizes Innovative Companies Leading the Way to Solve

Global Health and Standard of Living Challenges

Cambridge, MA (April 11, 2013) – Sproxil, a leading provider of world-class brand protection for emerging markets, has been named a recipient of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s ‘Patents for Humanity’ Award during a ceremony on Capitol Hill today.  Launched in 2012 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Patents for Humanity is a competition recognizing patent owners and licensees who address global challenges in health and standards of living.

Sproxil is recognized for its Mobile Product Authentication^™ (MPA^TM) solution that allows consumers to verify products are genuine by using a mobile phone and a free (SMS) text message.  While the solution can be used for any tangible product, MPA solution’s first application is addressing the need to combat counterfeit medication.

Upon purchasing medication, consumers scratch a label revealing a one-time use code, then text the code to a secure number provided on the package. As part of the MPA technology, the text message is processed to determine the drug’s genuineness. Within seconds, the end user is notified, via text, of the result. Alternatively, consumers can call a consumer support desk to get results in their local language.

The solution is deployed in developing regions of Africa and Asia; it is offered in Nigeria, India, Kenya (serving East Africa), and Ghana (serving West Africa).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FAST COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2013 RANKING OF WORLD’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 

Sproxil Named #7 on List; Higher than Google, Amazon & Apple Amongst Others

Sproxil Also #1 on Fast Company’s List of “Most Innovative Companies in Healthcare”

Cambridge, MA & New York (February 11, 2013) – Sproxil<sup®, a leading provider of world-class brand protection for emerging markets, announces it has been named #7 on Fast Company magazine’s “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” – a higher rank than some of the world’s most recognized innovation companies, including Google, Amazon and Apple.  In addition, Sproxil was named the #1 Innovative Company in Fast Company’s healthcare-specific list.

Sproxil is being honored for its’ Mobile Product Authentication™ (MPA™) technology that has been used more than three million times to verify that products are genuine.  Leading pharmaceutical companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck Serono, IPCA as well as regulatory organizations in the emerging markets of Africa and India have been leveraging Sproxil’s MPA solution to protect consumers from taking potentially harmful counterfeit and substandard medications since the company launched in 2009.  The MPA solution can be used to verify any tangible item, and Sproxil’s solution is currently being implemented and used in categories including skin care, supplements and vitamins, electrical cabling, automotive and motorcycle parts and agro-business, to name a few.

A profile of Sproxil, as well as the other recipients, can be found online, as well as in the March issue of Fast Company.   “Being named in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Company list is one the most prestigious honors we have received – we’re truly humbled to be recognized with some of the most innovative and world-renowned companies,” states Sproxil CEO Ashifi Gogo.  “Our mission is to help consumers make wiser and more informed purchases, getting more value and safer products for their money.  Especially in developing markets where most people don’t have as much disposable money, Sproxil helps people avoid getting ripped off at the store.  It’s a testament to our team’s dedication to hard work and creativity that we’ve been able to make such an impact.”

The Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company‘s most significant, high-profile editorial effort of the year. According to Fast Company, “Our editorial team spends months gathering and sifting data, to identify those enterprises that exemplify the best in business from across the economy and around the world. The end result is a package that dares to be different, emphasizing not just revenue growth and profit margins but also progressive business models and an ethos of creativity. In addition to the Top 50, Fast Company also ranks the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in ten categories, including Big Data, Entertainment, Finance, and Food—all of which are featured in the print edition and on FastCompany.com.”

About Sproxil

Sproxil^® is a venture-backed enterprise that provides world-class brand protection services in emerging markets. The Company’s Mobile Product Authentication™ MPA™ solution helps ensure purchased goods are not stolen or counterfeit by allowing consumers to verify product genuineness within seconds through a text message. Compatible with any tangible item, Sproxil’s solution is widely used by leading pharmaceutical companies to curb the multi-billion dollar counterfeit drug industry.  The Company has also penetrated non-pharmaceutical industries including personal care, automotive aftermarket and food supplements.  Sproxil has won the IBM SmartCamp Boston Award and the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Outstanding Commitment Award, as well as received regulatory endorsements in Nigeria and Kenya. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, Sproxil continues to expand across Asia and Africa.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business-media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design. In print and through digital and social channels, as well as live events, Fast Company reports on and addresses the most progressive business leaders. Editor Robert Safian was named AdWeek‘s Editor of the Year in 2009. Under the leadership of publisher Christine Osekoski, Fast Company made AdWeek’s Hot List for three consecutive years, and FastCompany.com executive editor Noah Robischon has tripled traffic and revenue. Fast Company is owned by Joe Mansueto, founder, chairman, and CEO of Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research.

Media Contact:

Jeff Loucks

jeff@spoxil.com

+1.781.571.9330

It is estimated that Kenya loses KSH 70 billion a year due to counterfeit trade (Business Daily Africa). Cable producer East African Cables did not want to be a part of that statistic any longer.
The company recently partnered with Sproxil East Africa Limited to help curb the issue and introduce the Zinduka initiative. Through this program, consumers can avoid getting duped by substandard, fake cables and ensure that they only get the high quality products they want.

The Zinduka initiative mirrors the award winning Mobile Product Authentication™ (MPA™) solution. At point of purchase, consumers can scratch off a part of the special security label to reveal a unique, one-time use item code. They can text the code for free to Sproxil’s short code in Kenya – 38353 – and almost instantly receive a reply stating that the product is genuine or warning that it may be fake.

“Through this technology, EA Cables will be able to know the location where counterfeiting is taking place and share the same information with regulators,” said Geoffrey Otieno, Head of Sproxil East Africa Limited.

Although the Zinduka-protected products are already in market, the official launch for the initiative was today. More details on the launch to come soon!

It is estimated that Kenya loses KSH 70 billion a year due to counterfeit trade (Business Daily Africa). Cable producer East African Cables did not want to be a part of that statistic any longer.
The company recently partnered with Sproxil East Africa Limited to help curb the issue and introduce the Zinduka initiative. Through this program, consumers can avoid getting duped by substandard, fake cables and ensure that they only get the high quality products they want.

The Zinduka initiative mirrors the award winning Mobile Product Authentication™ (MPA™) solution. At point of purchase, consumers can scratch off a part of the special security label to reveal a unique, one-time use item code. They can text the code for free to Sproxil’s short code in Kenya – 38353 – and almost instantly receive a reply stating that the product is genuine or warning that it may be fake.

“Through this technology, EA Cables will be able to know the location where counterfeiting is taking place and share the same information with regulators,” said Geoffrey Otieno, Head of Sproxil East Africa Limited.

Although the Zinduka-protected products are already in market, the official launch for the initiative was today. More details on the launch to come soon!

GlaxoSmithKline and Sproxil, Inc. Honored as First Recipients of ISMP’s George DiDomizio Industry Award
Mobile based Anti-Counterfeit Program in Nigeria Recognized

Sproxil, Inc., in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline, has been named the first recipient of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices’ (ISMP) George DiDomizio Industry Award for their joint work to prevent the spread of counterfeit medications. The award is part of ISMP’s 15th annual Cheers Awards – a program honoring individuals, organizations, and companies that have set a standard of excellence for others to follow in the prevention of medication errors and adverse drug events. The George DiDomizio Industry Award honors members of the pharmaceutical industry that have made important and lasting contributions to patient safety. Sproxil and GlaxoSmithKline will be honored at an awards ceremony on December 4, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

Sproxil collaborated with GlaxoSmithKline and Nigeria’s regulatory organization, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC), in 2011 on a pilot anti-counterfeiting program with the antibiotic Amplicox distributed in Nigeria. Consumers could send a scratch-off code from the medication package via a text message to a central toll-free phone number.

The mobile service would then look up the code and send a verification text back indicating whether the drug is genuine, potentially fake, or stolen. Another toll-free phone number was provided for consumers to call Sproxil’s consumer support desk if they had questions or would like to verify by phone instead of SMS text. The support desk captures key market information from the consumer, including locations of purchases and any tip offs for instances of potentially counterfeit drugs. During the pilot, more than 480,000 patients sent more than 600,000 text message verifications. Of those text verifications, 2.5% of the messages led to a counterfeit alert.

Bharti Airtel, (‘Airtel’), a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 17 countries across Africa today announced a partnership with Sproxil to combat the counterfeit drug market in Africa. Sproxil’s Mobile Product Authentication™ (MPA™) solution allows consumers to verify product genuineness within seconds through a text message. Airtel will offer this service absolutely free to its users and not charge for any SMS based verification.
Sproxil’s service works by placing a scratch-off label on products, and then when consumers purchase a product, they scratch off the label to reveal a unique, random code. The code is then sent via SMS to a country-specific Toll Free short code, and the consumer receives a reply almost instantly indicating whether the product is genuine or not.
Andre Beyers, Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel, Africa commented, “Our goal is to bring affordable and easily accessible health services to over 450 million people. The battle against counterfeit drugs is a huge step towards this goal.” Beyers added “Whilst this agreement is a step in the right direction, I also believe that collaboration between all the stakeholders in the mobile health ecosystem is key to a successful and sustainable future.

“Building relationships with individual telecom companies and acquiring the short codes necessary for our MPA solution in each country can take a considerable amount of time – it slows down deployment,” comments Dr. Ashifi Gogo, Sproxil CEO. “By working with Airtel, we can get short codes in various countries different markets from just one company, streamlining the process and ‘turbo charging’ our expansion throughout the region. For the consumers it’s a win-win – two advanced technologies working together: Airtel’s network provides high quality, very affordable telecom service enabling consumers to take advantage of Sproxil’s brand protection solution, at no cost to them.”

Airtel is a leader in mobile communications, providing services in 17 countries across Africa, which include Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The partnership is designed to facilitate the deployment of Sproxil’s Mobile Product AuthentificationTM (MPA) solution throughout developing regions of Africa– markets where Airtel is entrenched as a leading telecommunications provider.

About Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading integrated telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 5 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G services, fixed line, high speed broadband through DSL, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G mobile services. Bharti Airtel had over 257 million customers across its operations at the end of June 2012. To know more please visit, http://www.airtel.com.

About Sproxil
Sproxil is a venture-backed, social enterprise that provides world-class brand protection services in emerging markets. The Company’s Mobile Product AuthenticationTM MPATM solution helps ensure purchased goods are not stolen or counterfeit by allowing consumers to verify product genuineness within seconds through a text message. Compatible with any tangible item, Sproxil’s solution is widely used by leading pharmaceutical companies to curb the multi-billion dollar counterfeit drug industry. The Company has also penetrated non-pharmaceutical industries including personal care, automotive aftermarket and food supplements. Sproxil has won the IBM SmartCamp Boston Award and the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Outstanding Commitment Award, as well as received regulatory endorsements in Nigeria and Kenya. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, Sproxil continues to expand across Asia and Africa.

via Securing Pharma.
The United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently launched a public awareness campaign to combat counterfeit goods. Counterfeit goods pose a serious risk to the health and safety of patients worldwide (although the risk is more apparent in developing countries, where access to good healthcare can be scarce).

The video below, which was created by the UNODC agency as a part of the campaign, highlights the financial and social consequences of the counterfeit product market:

For more information, go to the article

Sproxil^(R) Mobile Product Authentication™ Solution

Surpasses 2 Million Usage Mark

Usage Rates Surge as Consumers Increasingly Adopt Texting Service

in Battle Against Counterfeit Drugs

Cambridge, MA (July 24, 2012) — Sproxil(R), a leading provider of world-class brand protection for emerging markets, is pleased to announce that consumers have used its Mobile Product Authentication™ (MPA™) technology more than two million times to verify their medications are genuine. Leading pharmaceutical companies and regulatory organizations in developing countries of Africa and India have been leveraging Sproxil’s MPA™ solution to protect consumers from taking potentially harmful counterfeit and substandard drugs since the company launched in 2009.

“We’re very proud to surpasses the two million mark.  What’s most impressive is how quickly the pace of usage is accelerating.  We hit the one million milestone at the end of 2011 – about two years after deployment.  Now, just seven months later, we’ve doubled the number,” states Dr. Ashifi Gogo, Chief Executive Officer of Sproxil.  “It’s a testament to just how easy it is to use the MPA™ solution, and because it’s free for consumers I expect the pace to continue gathering speed as we enter more and more developing regions.”

Upon purchasing medication, consumers scratch a label that reveals a one-time use code. Next, they text the code to a secure number provided on medication’s the package. As part of Sproxil’s MPA technology, the text message is processed to determine the drug’s genuineness. Within seconds, Sproxil notifies the end user, via text, of the result. Alternatively, consumers can call Sproxil’s consumer support desk to get results in their local language.

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