Monthly Archives: January 2019

Verification

GS1’s Messaging Standard For Verification Of Product Identifiers

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For companies in the US pharma supply chain, 2019 is going to be the year of an important milestone of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).   In November, wholesale distributors will be required to begin issuing verification requests to manufacturers, at the Standardized Numerical Identifier (SNI) level, for any returned drug that is still saleable, before they resell it.  I’ve written a lot about this change in the past.  

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EU FMD

FMD: Denmark Moves To Solve FMD Dilemma

Beginning in less than two weeks, all packages of prescription drugs entering the EU pharma supply chain must contain a 2D barcode encoding the EU serialized ‘Unique Identifier’ (see “The ‘Unique Identifier’ in the EU Delegated Act”).  More importantly, all drugs that have an FMD unique identifier on them at the point of dispense after February 9, 2019 must be “verified” and decommissioned through the National Medicines Verification System (NMVS) (see “What’s So Hard About Unique Identifier Verification?” and “Decommissioning Under the FMD/EUDR”).  It looks like my prediction of FMD delays was wrong (see “How Will They Delay The FMD?”) but at least Denmark has just moved to solve a serious FMD dilemma with a kind of delay.  Let me explain.

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Russia

Mixed Signals From Russia

I’m not talking about the mixed signals from Russia in your daily political newsfeed, I’m talking about the mixed signals we see between the Russian Federation decrees for their pharma serialization and traceability mandate, and the announcements of the government’s designated technology contractor to develop that system:  CRPT, LLC.  Considering how short the deadlines are, these mixed signals are counterproductive because they cause companies to pause while they figure out what they should do.  Let me explain.

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EPCIS

EPCIS Explained

At a recent GS1 discussion group meeting one of the moderators acknowledged that they need to create a clear explanation for exactly what EPCIS is.  I’ve never been very impressed with GS1’s ability to explain their own standards at a high-level for non-technical readers.  They do a great job of explaining them at the minutia-level, but that’s the problem.  Non-technical people who must make decisions about GS1 standards probably get bogged down in that minutia and end up not really understanding what it is, why it is significant, and why they should use it.  Too much technical documentation exists on how to apply EPCIS, and not enough documentation on the why.

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NDC

My Comments Regarding The New NDC Format

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Happy New Year!

A few hours before the end of the comment period, I submitted my comments to FDA’s docket on Regulations.gov for the new NDC format. By the time your read this, the docket will be closed. The agency that operates that web site often takes a few days to post submissions, but because of the government shutdown, I doubt if anyone will be working on it until after the government re-opens (assuming the furloughed workers haven’t gotten a better job by then…In that case, it could be even longer).

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