Yearly Archives: 2019

DSCSA, Interoperability, PDSA

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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DSCSA

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

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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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DSCSA

DSCSA Schedule Assessment, July 2019

It’s time to assess the progress of the industry and the FDA in their quest toward the November 27, 2023 Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) goal known as the Enhanced Drug Distribution (EDDS) phase…otherwise known as just ‘2023’ (see “EDDS: The New Data Exchange Requirements”).  Let’s step back and look at where we have come and where we need to go.

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EU FMD

EMVO Calls For Enforcement Of FMD/DR

Wait.  I thought the Falsified Medicines Directive and its companion Delegated Regulation (FMD/DR)—which has been in effect since February 9, 2019—was a mandate that would be enforced.  Turns out, it was apparently just a suggestion.  No actual government enforcement.  In fact, according to new estimates by the European Medicines Verification Organization (EMVO) and the National Medicines Verification Organizations (NMVOs),  only 60% of drug manufacturers and 75% of “other” supply chain actors (pharmacies, hospitals, wholesalers, dispensing doctors etc.) have connected to the medicines verification systems (the “system of repositories” mandated in the FMD/DR).  A partial result is that one out of every 33 verification attempts at pharmacies and hospitals who are connected result in a ‘false alert’.  That is, an alert that the drug being verified is not in the repository or the scan is not being interpreted correctly. 

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China

China Commits To The Digital Future In Healthcare, Including Pharma Traceability

Tesla Gigafactory 3 near Shanghai, China, June 22, 2019. Screengrab from YouTube video posted by Jason Yang.

I finally had time to finish applying Google Translate to the document issued on May 23, 2019 by the Comprehensive and Planning Finance Department of the China National Drug Administration (CNDA), called “State Drug Administration:  Action Plan to Accelerate the Promotion of Smart Drug Supervision”.  I originally thought “Smart Drug Supervision” was solely related to supply chain supervision, serialization and traceability, but that’s only a part of their plan.

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Barcodes, RxTrace

Barcodes 45, RxTrace 10

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The commercial use of barcodes began 45 years ago last week, and RxTrace began 10 years ago this week.  These are pretty incredible milestones and it is worth stepping back and thinking about what it all means.  GS1 issued a press release about the barcode’s 45th anniversary last week, providing links to several videos.  These include some old-timey videos of what grocery checkout was like before barcodes, and when the UPC barcode was first introduced in Troy, Ohio in 1973.  It made me feel old. 

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Reimportation

Here We Go Again. Florida Flirts With Opening Door To Counterfeits

Earlier this month, the state of Florida (population:  21 million) passed a law that seeks to enable the importation of drugs from Canada (population:  37 million).  The goal is to carve out some way for Florida residents to take advantage of the lower drug prices that Canadian citizens enjoy.  Canada is a “single payer” healthcare country, except for prescription drugs, which are not covered by the Canadian universal public health insurance system.  The reason some drugs are cheaper in Canada than they are here in the US is because the government is allowed to negotiate with drug companies to set pricing for their citizens.  But in the US, Congress has specifically denied that option for itself, except for Medicare.

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DSCSA

Is The FDA About To Delay Enforcement Of The Wholesaler’s 2019 Mandate?

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On November 27, 2019 the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requires wholesale distributors to step up their supply chain security activities another notch.  They are required to:

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