Merck Group, the German pharmaceutical and life sciences company, has been granted a US patent for a procedure linking artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology through the formation of ‘crypto-objects’. The patent focuses on securing supply chains.

Isabel De Paoli, Merck’s Chief Strategy Officer said the group is spearheading the development of blockchain technologies that focus on a combination of physical objects and digital security. Paoli said “This will have implications for all industries that depend on reliable product authenticity, such as safety-critical supply chains in the pharma and food sector.” The officer said combining physical products with blockchain will support the security interests of businesses and their products. This is achieved by offering new methods of tracking their supply chain through blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) and connected workflow environments. It will remove inefficiencies in the existing systems.

According to Merck Group’s web portal, the new technology uses machine learning to link physical objects to a blockchain through their own unique identifiers or fingerprints. “The patented technology paves the way for established identification processes, such as barcode scanners or mass spectrometry, to be combined with blockchain and machine-learning technologies to provide a novel, integrated security approach and thus certainty and defence to businesses.”

Experts and world organizations have recognized the need for enhanced supply chain integrity through new technologies.