The FDA's goal of introducing widespread use of tiny radio transmitters on prescription drug bottles to track shipments and thwart counterfeiters will not meet the anticipated 2007 target date.
 
Initially, when officials announced the plan in 2004, it was thought that widespread adoption was feasible by 2007. The agency has encouraged drug makers, wholesalers and distributors to implement electronic tracking systems with RFID technology, but has not made it a requirement.

FDA officials said they could not say when the technology would be prevalent across the prescription drug supply chain, but said they were taking steps to speed the adoption of RFID or other ways of tracing prescription drugs from drug manufacturer to wholesalers and pharmacies. By the end of the year, the agency will require wholesalers to provide a "pedigree" showing a record of the drug's movements along the supply chain.

Prescription drug counterfeits are rare, but seem to be growing in frequency and sophistication, according to the FDA. Fake versions of Viagra, Lipitor, and Procrit and other widely used medications have been uncovered in recent years.