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Biowell takes on counterfeiters

Biowell Technology Inc (博微生科), the Taiwanese anti-piracy biotech firm, has launched a new counterfeit-proof label to help companies combat the US$350 billion per year pirated goods industry -- which can include airplane parts and pharmaceuticals.

The company fuses organic DNA into the ink on labels and sells them to manufacturers to place on genuine products. Included in the kits are cotton swabs which mix with a chemical on the labels and can immediately tell investigators or consumers whether the product is real or fake.

"Obviously companies must control the labels," said David Silver, special assistant at Biowell.

The company claims the labels are copy proof due to the DNA combined with the ink used in printing. Executives at the company say it would be nearly impossible to extract the DNA strand and figure out its make up since the company developed its own primer to hold the DNA and keep it "alive" and the DNA itself is in such a small concentration it would be extremely difficult to find.

"Even if someone were able to locate the DNA, they would not be able to extract it because they don't know what kind of primer was used. Without the correct primer, the DNA would `die,'" said U.K. Singha, a researcher at Biowell.

Counterfeit goods come in many forms beyond music and video CDs. In their most deadly form, fake aircraft parts and pharmaceuticals have found their way onto world markets.

"Although very stringent controls exist for the supply of spare aircraft parts, there have been a number of incidents of aeroplane crashes caused by fake components. ... The Far East is commonly pinpointed by the US aviation industry as the problem area," according to a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Last week, US authorities confiscated thousands of bogus airplane parts from Panaviation, an Italian company accused of selling up to 10,000 counterfeit parts to companies in the US, MSNBC reported on its Web site.

"We are looking at parts that are very critical to flight safety -- hydraulic fittings, brakes, flaps, cockpit instruments and landing gear," MSNBC quoted aviation journalist Tim Van Beveren as saying.

"People formerly involved in the drug business have changed over to be brokers for aviation parts. The margins of profit are the same," he added.

In the case of bogus pharmaceuticals, some patients pay for bogus drugs that are completely ineffective in treating their diseases and sometimes contain chemicals hazardous to health. The World Health Organization says people die every day from using counterfeit drugs.

The Biowell labels look like price tag labels commonly found on goods in a department store, but have six levels of security, including the DNA, florescent markings and micro-printing used to make the labels difficult to reproduce in appearance. If all other safety features fail, the DNA will still offer an easy source of detection for someone seeking to separate genuine products from fakes, according to Biowell.

The company has so far been able to mix its DNA and primer in 20 different materials, including ink, paper, paint, ceramics and plastic, and other materials might work, but "you have to test and see," according to Johnson Chen (詹淳勝), another researcher at Biowell. The firm is willing to work with companies on developing new ways to use its DNA protection process.

So far, Biowell's customers include firms from the software, information technology and components industries, as well as the spirits industry, since copying bottles and packaging on expensive wines and whiskeys has become big business around the world.

Biowell plans to find agents to help it develop markets around the world for its products, as it wishes to remain a pure research organization, according to company chairman Sheu Jen-jei (許俊傑).
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