New RFID Label Achieves 100% Read Rate

A new RFID labeling solution is making it possible to reliably track liquid-filled pharmaceutical vials—an application that has historically been difficult for RFID technology.

The product, called LiquidMate O, was introduced by SAG as an adhesive label designed to be applied directly to injectable drug vials. It enables item-level tracking using UHF RFID, supporting pharmaceutical supply chain visibility and compliance requirements such as the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).  

Tracking liquid medications has long been challenging because liquids can interfere with radio signals, reducing RFID readability. The new label addresses this issue through a specialized antenna design that maintains consistent performance even when attached to small, curved glass vials filled with liquid.  

The label is compact—about 62 mm by 20 mm—and is designed for standard 10-mL pharmaceutical vials. It has been independently tested by AXIA Lab under conditions intended to mimic real hospital and pharmacy workflows. In those tests, the system achieved 100% read accuracy, even when many tagged vials were stored together and scanned from different directions.  

Another advantage of the design is that the same label can function across a range of injectable drug formulations with different dielectric properties. This eliminates the need to develop separate RFID labels for each formulation, which can reduce product complexity and inventory management overhead for pharmaceutical manufacturers.  

By enabling reliable RFID tagging directly on the vial, the technology could help pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers improve inventory control, reduce medication losses due to expiration or misplacement, and enhance traceability throughout the drug supply chain—from manufacturing to clinical use.  

The company says the labeling system has already completed validation testing and is ready for commercial deployment in high-volume pharmaceutical manufacturing environments.