Dirk is the founder of RxTrace where he writes regularly on the intersection between the pharmaceutical supply chain, track and trace technology, standards and regulatory compliance. He has written hundreds of essays on those specific topics. A logical thinker, Dirk is skilled at making complex technical topics understandable to non-technical readers and listeners.
An Electrical and Computer Engineer by education, Dirk has worked as a consultant, software architect and automation engineer during a career spanning 30 years. Overall, Dirk's thought leadership has helped to expose hidden complexities and reveal surprising consequences and implications of drug serialization and pedigree laws around the world.
Dirk is the author of "The Drug Supply Chain Security Act Explained".
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On May 11, 2017, ANVISA formally published RDC-157/2017 that will serve as the regulations for their 3-Lot Pilot that is to take place in 2017. We’ve been expecting this new RDC around this time because they were required by the recent Law Number 13.410 of December 28, 2016 (see “Brazil Gets Rational With Their New Pharma Traceability Law”). ANVISA also held a “public consultation” to allow the public to review and comment on an earlier draft of what is now RDC-157/2016 (see “ANVISA Reveals Draft Serialization Regulation and Asks For Comments”). The newly adopted RDC-157 is clearly intended to guide the pilot and then ANVISA intends to update it as part of their analysis of the pilot results. They will likely go through another public consultation before they make it a final regulation that all companies will need to follow. Bottom line, if you are not part of the 3-Lot Pilot, don’t start implementing a solution until Continue reading Brazil Publishes RDC-157 To Regulate 2017 3-Lot Pilot→
Today, Peggy Staver will officially retire from Pfizer, after a career of 35 years. Those of us who have worked on figuring out how to implement anti-counterfeiting solutions that work in the U.S. pharma supply chain over the last 15 years or so will miss her friendly, inquisitive and steady voice very much. Continue reading Thank You Peggy Staver!→
I don’t have any hard evidence, but there are some interesting things out there that just might point to a coming delay in the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) November 27, 2017 deadline for drug manufacturer serialization and electronic transaction data exchange. Let’s call them “tea leaves”, and let me attempt to “read” them. They might turn out to be meaningless, so don’t take any action based on such speculation. And if you know something more, or interpret something differently, leave a message.
As an experiment, I taped the smallest DSCSA-compliant 2D barcode I could define to these sample vial and syringe from CCL Label. Notice that neither sample includes the required human readable text of the data encoded in the barcode, which means that these examples may not comply in some markets. The barcode on the vial is readable, but the one on the syringe is not readable because of the short radius of the barrel (about 5mm).
RxTrace readers are already well aware that multiple new laws around the world will require prescription drug manufacturers to put a new 2D barcode on their products in the next few years. But what if your drug package is too small to fit the new mandated 2D barcode and human readable information on the label? Let’s take a look at what the regulations say in the E.U., Brazil and the United States. From that, we can come up with some strategies. Continue reading Is Your Drug Too Small For The Mandated 2D Barcode?→
I recently wrote about several letters sent to the FDA by the Pharmaceutical Distribution Security Alliance (PDSA) regarding the overdue guidance documents (see “In Absence Of FDA Guidance, Follow PDSA Recommendations”). I highly recommend that you read those letters. But there was one letter from the PDSA to the FDA that I did not reference in that essay because it is not related to missing guidance. Instead, it’s about PDSA’s fear about the potential inability of some manufacturers to verify, in the DSCSA sense, certain drugs between now and November of 2019. To be exact, the type of verification they are worried about is the kind that will be based on a drug’s Standardized Numerical Identifier (SNI). Continue reading Will Manufacturers Have Trouble Verifying Some Drugs Next Year?→
As you are already well aware, the FDA is long overdue to publish four different guidance documents covering various aspects of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), as mandated by Congress (see “Who Is Being Harmed By Four Overdue FDA DSCSA Guidances?”). At least two of those guidance documents would affect how companies should expect to comply with the serialization deadline on November 27, 2017.
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DISCLAIMER: RxTrace contains some of the personal thoughts, ideas and opinions of RxTrace. The material contained in RxTrace is not legal advice. The writers of RxTrace are not lawyers. The reader must make their own decisions about the accuracy of the opinions expressed in RxTrace. Readers are encouraged to consult their own legal counsel and trading partners before taking any actions based on information found in RxTrace. RxTrace is not a vehicle for communicating the positions of any company, organization or individual other than RxTrace.