DSCSA Uniqueness: SNI vs SGTIN…Again

Ahh, summer.  Some years it seems like everyone is on vacation except me.  I usually only take a few days off here and there in the summer, preferring to do longer vacations in other parts of the year.  So next weekend I’m going to take an extra day off, and so there will be no RxTrace essay published next Monday (the Labor Day holiday here in the US), and I’m going to link to one of my favorite essays from the last year this week as the summer winds down.  This essay was posted on October 7, 2018 under the “A Monthly Slice of RxTrace” on the Center For Supply Chain Studies (C4SCS) website.  Unfortunately I haven’t been able to keep up with the “Monthly” part of that title due to time pressures, but there is some great content out there from the last 12 months (see “A Monthly Slice of RxTrace”).  Other than my diverted attention, nothing has changed so I may post more new content on the C4SCS site in the future if I can make some time.

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Can GS1 Hold Onto Drug Identification Worldwide?

Some countries mandate the use of GS1 standards for drug product identification and package and case barcodes.  The European Commission seems to tolerate GS1 standards, leaving it up to each member state to decide.  Most use them, a few held onto their own national codes as long as they could.  China is taking their time warming up to the GS1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) but it seems to be happening.  That is, I think it’s happening.  The United States has always had its own national numbering system for identifying drugs, known as the National Drug Code (NDC) (see “Anatomy Of The National Drug Code”).  Because they are running out of numbers to identify new manufacturers (labelers), they are considering changes to the NDC that could break the ability to encode an NDC within a GTIN (see “How To Properly Define GTINs For Your NDCs”, “FDA New NDC Format Public Meeting” and “An Open Letter To The FDA: New NDC Format Public Meeting”).  The USA is not the only country to be considering a break with GS1 standards.  Indonesia will allow QR Codes on drug packages, and now there is a movement in the India government to move away from GS1 standards.  What’s going on here?  Can GS1 hold onto drug identification around the world?  Let’s take a look.

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PDSA Releases Prospectus To Prospective Governance Group Members

Last week the Pharmaceutical Distribution Security Alliance (PDSA) released a prospectus for the, as yet, unnamed non-profit organization that they are trying to kickstart to help govern supply chain interoperability of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) solutions targeting the Enhance Drug Distribution Security (EDDS) phase that will go into effect in November of 2023 (see “PDSA’s Proposal for Governance of DSCSA Phase II Interoperability” and “PDSA Brainstorms Vision For DSCSA Governance Organization With Stakeholders”).  You can download the prospectus here.

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Can Trump/Azar/Sharpless Eliminate Parts of the DSCSA to Enable Importation?

Can President Trump, HHS Secretary Azar and Acting FDA Commissioner Sharpless eliminate/adjust/reinterpret any part of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) to allow Florida, Colorado, Vermont, Maine or any other US state or territory to import drugs from foreign markets?  Let’s take a closer look at what’s been going on recently with the idea of importing drugs from other markets in an attempt to help American citizens buy them at a lower cost. 

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