Applied DNA Sciences, a U.S.-based company providing molecular technologies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with blockchain startup Everledger to build CertainT Blockchain platform.

The companies will execute co-marketing and development plan for their platforms in order to provide an “integrated physical and digital security for supply chain traceability and certification for high-end brands and products.” According to the official release, Applied DNA and Everledger are initially targeting the leather supply chain.

Under the MOU, the companies will integrate the Everledger blockchain-enabled platform with Applied DNA’s CertainT platform. The molecular tag, test and track platform will help enhance the capability to track the movement and chain of custody of goods, while strengthening the protection of physical goods with forensic identity and traceability embedded in items themselves.

The companies have already identified several prospects for the integrated platform, the release said. They are currently working to develop the system for the demonstration of tagging and in-field authentication data posting to the digital transactions, thereby reinforcing molecular certification with immutable transactions.

“If an asset does not have an identity, it does not have ownership, value or existence. In the high-end products market, authenticity, provenance as well as value, cannot be separated. By incorporating a forensic layer to uniquely identifying an asset, we can provide the added confidence in the data captured and tracked on our blockchain-enabled platform,” Everledger Founder & CEO Leanne Kemp said.