ForgeStop × EM Microelectronic — Secure Connected Packaging for Pharmaceutical Track-and-Trace and Authentication

ForgeStop and EM Microelectronic have created secure, connected intelligent packaging for pharmaceuticals. EM’s em|echo is a single dual-frequency chip readable by both UHF RAIN RFID readers (warehouse, case, pallet) and standard NFC smartphones (pharmacist and patient), with configurable on-chip cryptographic authentication.  ForgeStop’s platform activates each chip on the production line as a tamper-evident smart label, binds it to a serialised digital identity, and verifies it securely in real time, so a single tap confirms a pack is genuine and opens trusted, regulated product information (ePI), while the same tag supports item-level track-and-trace from packaging through distribution to dispensing. Every authentication generates unit-level data, surfaced as real-time analytics for traceability, geography and inventory insight.  The solution is commercialised and live nationwide across IFA Celtics’ prescription and OTC portfolio in Mexico, the country’s first pharmaceutical company to adopt NFC authentication, and among the first globally at commercial scale, operating at roughly one to 1.5 million authenticated packs per month, and is built to scale to additional brands, regions and regulatory regimes.