Antares Vision Announces Partnership with Crest Solutions

ROMA, Italy - March 18, 2013 - PRLog -- Antares Vision, a leading provider of e-Pedigree and serialization technology & solutions to the pharmaceutical industry worldwide, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Crest Solutions, a Cork-based Enterprise Ireland client company and the largest vision integration company in Ireland.

In a significant move for the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland and the U.K., Crest Solutions is now positioned to bring to market one of the world's only proven solutions to comply with the stringent and imminent industry requirements on e-Pedigree and serialization in drug manufacturing. The move is set to result in a sustained jobs growth for Crest Solutions, a Cork-based Enterprise Ireland client company and the largest vision integration company in Ireland.

The announcement came at a networking event in Rome, hosted by Enterprise Ireland to mark St. Patrick's Day 2013. The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Mr. Michael Ring TD, joined the Irish ambassador to Italy, Enterprise Ireland client companies and their key partners at the event.

Congratulating Antares Vision and Crest Solutions on the announcement of their partnership, Minister Ring said: "New jobs in Irish businesses are right at the heart of this government's job-creation plans. This new partnership between Crest Solutions and Antares Vision is a great example of how an Irish company can grow new exports and create new jobs in Ireland."

Speaking in Rome, CEO of Crest Solutions, Frank Madden, said of the announcement, "The next critical deadline for compliance with standards on serialization and Track & Trace in pharmaceutical manufacturing is rapidly approaching, and the requirements will only continue to increase on a global scale until they cover all markets. Crest Solutions set out to provide our existing and prospective clients with a proven solution that is future proofed and we are very pleased to present this solution from Antares Vision. The Antares team has proven that they are the global leaders in this area, with 270 serialized lines and 114 aggregated lines operating worldwide - those are the highest numbers of installations in the world. Following years of experience with the leading players in the global pharmaceutical industry, Crest Solutions is well positioned to bring a proven solution to the Irish and UK market. We are very pleased to be able to assist clients in Ireland and the UK as they tackle the area of serialization and aggregation on packaging lines".

Also in Rome, Emidio Zorzella, Antares Vision CEO said, "Crest Solutions is a great addition to our sales channels, broadening our horizons and contributing to our overall sales goals. We look forward to developing this relationship and bringing our high quality technology products to a new audience."

This development is of particular significance given the status of these industry requirements on a global level. Countries such as France and Turkey have already implemented regulations for serialization in the pharmaceutical industry, and now the U.S. will also get on board, with California implementing its e-Pedigree law from January 1, 2015. The law, the first of its kind in the United States, has been delayed in implementation in the past but officials are determined that this deadline of 2015 will be adhered to. As a result, 2013 is seen by all as the year for pharmaceutical companies to take definitive action.

Crest Solutions will now become part of an exclusive network of partners that is integrating and supporting Antares Vision solutions worldwide.

ABOUT SERIALIZATION AND E-PEDIGREE

Serialization means that all medicines are marked with a unique code during each stage of packaging and distribution. These codes will be checked and recorded to track the product from production to end user. Each code and its associated data needs to be stored, in compliance with regulations, for the entire duration of the product’s life cycle. An e-Pedigree is an electronic document which provides data on the history of a particular batch of a drug. This guarantees drug quality and ensures full Traceability, should any issues arise when the product reaches the consumer.

ABOUT ANTARES VISION

Headquartered in Brescia, Italy, Antares Vision is a leader in technology solutions for security and Traceability/E-pedigree to the pharmaceutical industry. All products and solutions comply with GAMP5 and 21CFR part 11 directives of the FDA. Customer satisfaction, a global approach to in-line and off-line quality control, creative use of the most innovative technologies in order to supply reliable and long-lasting and user friendly solutions are the distinguishing features of Antares Vision.

ABOUT CREST SOLUTIONS

Innovators in Compliant Production

Crest Solutions has served world-leading customers in pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturing since 1998. Crest Solutions reduces customer’s risk and costs by creating innovative responses to production issues which manage and offer compliance to the manufacturing lines of global enterprises. Arising from customer-led experience and expertise, Crest Solutions has productised many applications into hardware and software packages that empower production, engineering, manufacturing and compliance managers and engineers.