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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

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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

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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

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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

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References

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  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 February 14, 2012.
  10. ^ Taylor, Phil. "Sproxil wins $1.8m in funding, expands into India". SecuringPharma. Retrieved February 14, 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. February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  15. ^ "Sproxil East Africa and East African Cables forge partnership under Zinduka Initiative | The Sproxil Blog". February 6, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  16. ^ Zax, David (April 15, 2013). "Counter Intelligence: Taking On Counterfeiters, One Pair Of Underwear At A Time | Fast Company | Business + Innovation". Fast Company. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  17. ^ "Anti-counterfeit technology news in brief". November 3, 2014.
  18. ^ "Sproxil® — Blog".
  19. ^ Murray, Sarah (April 25, 2017). "Responsible Business Awards 2017: the shortlist". Financial Times. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "NIGERIAN HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE AWARD 2016 WINNERS". Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  21. ^ "Ashifi Gogo". www.schwabfound.org. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "2013 Award Recipients". Uspto.gov. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  23. ^ "07_Sproxil | Fast Company | Business + Innovation". Fast Company. February 11, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  24. ^ "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Health Care | Fast Company | Business + Innovation". Fast Company. February 11, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  25. ^ "ISMP Cheers Awards Winners". Ismp.org. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  26. ^ "World Business and Development Awards | ICC - International Chamber of Commerce". Iccwbo.org. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  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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