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Sproxil

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Sproxil
Company typePrivate
Headquarters
Cambridge, Massachusetts
,
U.S.
Area served
West Africa
East Africa
Asia
Key people
Ashifi Gogo CEO
Alden Zecha, CFO
WebsiteSproxil.com

Sproxil is an American venture capital-backed [1] for-profit company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that provides a consumer product verification service (called Mobile Authentication Service or MAS) to help consumers avoid purchasing counterfeit products. The service was the first Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) to launch in Nigeria.[2]

Sproxil has operations in Nigeria, Mali, Ghana (serving West Africa), Tanzania, Kenya (serving East Africa), India and Pakistan (Asia).

Activity

A drug package with Sproxil label and phone showing SMS reply.
Package with Sproxil label and phone showing SMS reply

Sproxil's service places a security label with a scratch-off panel on all protected products. Consumers scratch off the panel at a point of purchase to reveal a unique one-time use code. This is a form of mass serialization. The code is sent via SMS or mobile app to a country-specific short code, and the consumer receives a reply almost instantly indicating that the product is genuine or suspicious. The company also has a 24/7 call center to provide support during the verification process and take in anonymous reports of suspicious counterfeiting activity.

Recent activity

In 2010, NAFDAC, the Nigerian government agency overseeing food and drugs, endorsed the Sproxil platform[3][4][5] and the service has been widely deployed throughout Nigeria.[6][7] In April 2011, CNN published a video discussing the role Sproxil played in the fight against counterfeit drugs in Nigeria.[8]

In February 2011, Sproxil announced that it had received $1.8 million in funding from Acumen Fund.[9] Funding is being used to help the company expand into India.[10]

Johnson & Johnson and GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) are using Sproxil services in Africa as is the Nigerian distributor of Merck KGaA named Biofem.[11]

In June 2011, Sproxil launched operations in India [12] and in July 2011 Kenya's Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) also adopted similar text message-based anti-counterfeiting systems.[13] As of early 2012, Sproxil announced that more than one million people in Africa had checked their medicines using the text-message based verification service developed by Sproxil.[14]

In February 2013, Sproxil signed on East African Cables to protect their electric cables through the Zinduka Initiative. The initiative utilizes the MPA solution[buzzword] to help consumers verify that their electrical cables are genuine before purchase. This partnership marked Sproxil's further expansion into non-pharmaceutical markets.[15] Other industries that uses Sproxil's solution[buzzword] is textile and clothing (underwear).[16]

In 2014, the company expanded its Mobile Authentication services, originally available to consumers by SMS and call center, by adding mobile apps to their solution[buzzword] suite. The same year, Sproxil became ISO-27001 (for information security controls) and ISO-9001 (for quality management systems) certified after a comprehensive review of its internal processes.[17] Soon after, Kenya-based agribusiness company Juanco SPS officially launched a consumer-facing project that protects pesticide Bestox 100EC with MPA technology. [18]

Awards

2017 Unilever Global Development Award[19]

2016 Innovative Healthcare Service Provider Of The Year[20]

2015 Interface Health Excellence (IHX) Challenge

2015 Frost & Sullivan's Enabling Technology Leadership Award

2014 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award [21]

2013 USPTO Patents for Humanity Award [22]

2013 #1 in health care and #7 overall in Fast Company Magazine World's 50 Most Innovative Companies [23][24]

2012 ISMP Cheers Award - George DiDomizio Industry Award [25]

2012 ICC World Business and Development Award [26]

2010 Honorable Mention Global Finals, IBM Entrepreneur SmartCamp Competition[27][28][29]

2010 MassChallenge Finalist[30]

2010 Mobile Infrastructure Award, MITX[31]

2010 People's Choice Award at Accelerate Michigan[32]

2010 Prize Winner, African Diaspora Marketplace[33][34]

2010 Audience Choice Award Life Sciences at Xconomy Xsite [35]

2009 Outstanding Commitment Award in Global Health, Clinton Global Initiative University[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ Acumen Fund Invests in Sproxil, Inc. to Combat Counterfeit Medicine Using Mobile Technology
  2. ^ NAFDAC Launches Mobile Authentication Service in Nigeria with Sproxil’s Technology
  3. ^ Sproxil - The fight against counterfeit drugs continues Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ NAFDAC launches mobile anti-counterfeiting service
  5. ^ Nigeria adopts SMS tech to thwart counterfeiters
  6. ^ How to identify fake Ampiclox
  7. ^ Sproxil lands $1.8 million to fight fake drugs
  8. ^ CNN Video
  9. ^ Kutz, Erin (March 2011). "Sproxil Grabs $1.8M". Xconomy. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  10. ^ Taylor, Phil. "Sproxil wins $1.8m in funding, expands into India". SecuringPharma. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  11. ^ J&J is latest client for SMS verification specialist Sproxil
  12. ^ "Sproxil launches its operations in India"
  13. ^ "Kenya plans national roll-out of mobile anti-counterfeiting tech"
  14. ^ "Sproxil claims milestone with 1 millionth medicine verification". SecuringPharma. 2012-02-03. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  15. ^ "Sproxil East Africa and East African Cables forge partnership under Zinduka Initiative | The Sproxil Blog". 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  16. ^ Zax, David (2013-04-15). "Counter Intelligence: Taking On Counterfeiters, One Pair Of Underwear At A Time | Fast Company | Business + Innovation". Fast Company. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  17. ^ "Anti-counterfeit technology news in brief". 2014-11-03.
  18. ^ "Sproxil® — Blog".
  19. ^ Murray, Sarah (25 April 2017). "Responsible Business Awards 2017: the shortlist". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  20. ^ "NIGERIAN HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE AWARD 2016 WINNERS". Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  21. ^ http://www.schwabfound.org/content/ashifi-gogo. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ^ "2013 Award Recipients". Uspto.gov. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  23. ^ "07_Sproxil | Fast Company | Business + Innovation". Fast Company. 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  24. ^ "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Health Care | Fast Company | Business + Innovation". Fast Company. 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  25. ^ "ISMP Cheers Awards Winners". Ismp.org. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  26. ^ "World Business and Development Awards | ICC - International Chamber of Commerce". Iccwbo.org. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  27. ^ 2010 IBM SmartCamp Finalists
  28. ^ Sproxil takes on Africa’s drug counterfeiters
  29. ^ Boston IBM Smartcamp Finalists announced
  30. ^ MassChallenge Announces Top 110 Finalist Startup Teams
  31. ^ Sproxil’s brand authentication technology earns IBM, MITX honors
  32. ^ Sproxil wins People’s Choice at Accelerate Michigan
  33. ^ Sproxil Wins Long-Term Support from USAID, Western Union and Ecobank
  34. ^ Awash in Fake Drugs, Nigerians Fight Back
  35. ^ Xconomy XSITE 2010 Highlighted Innovation and Technology in Building the Next Economy
  36. ^ Texting for Life: Mobile Phones Provide Freedom from the Ravages of Counterfeit Drugs in West Africa

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