SAFLINK, a US company that develops biometric security products has made its first sale of the technology to an unnamed pharmaceutical client.
The $1 million deal, which includes an initial $500,000 order, relates to the integration of SAFLINK's biometric authentication software into the pharmaceutical company's production management infrastructure at a designated plant.
The company's software is compatible with a number of devices, including fingerprint scanners, iris scanners, voice and face recognition devices and smart cards, and ensure that only authorised personnel can log onto a workstation or operate a machine.
SAFLINK's software is used to configure the devices and enrol users in the system so that they can be recognised and authenticated. Many products conform to the Human Authentication API (HA-API) standard, the first industry standard for biometrics, which the company co-authored.
"This solution is designed to provide strong authentication and tracking for the production of pharmaceutical products and to help customers comply with Food and Drug Administration requirements," said SAFLINK.
The company notes that the number of companies considering biometrics as a viable option for enhancing user authentication, especially for high-security applications and environments, is on the increase. Until recently, the technology was an expensive and impractical solution, but dropping hardware costs and the development of industry-wide standards is moving biometrics into more mainstream use.
"We are very pleased to receive this significant order - to our knowledge the first such implementation of its kind," said Glenn Argenbright, SAFLINK's CEO. He said the company would now pursue similar opportunities among other companies in the pharmaceutical industry.