New Must-Read DSCSA Resource

Last week, GS1 US published a free DSCSA resource that every RxTrace reader must have.  It’s called “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by the Pharmaceutical Industry in Preparing for the U.S. DSCSA” and it can be downloaded free after registration.  Do it now, then come back and finish reading this essay. The document is 42 pages … Continue reading New Must-Read DSCSA Resource

One Immediate Impact of President Trump On The FDA

Most RxTrace subscribers are aware that the FDA is way overdue to publish four guidance documents mandated by the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) (see “Who Is Being Harmed By Four Overdue FDA DSCSA Guidances?” and “Is The FDA Intentionally Delaying Publication Of The Overdue DSCSA Guidance?” for a list of the missing documents).  … Continue reading One Immediate Impact of President Trump On The FDA

The Intrigue Contained In The New China Drug Code

Over the last few weeks, the pharma serialization and tracing landscape has begun to shift in China.  The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced a new use for an existing “National Drug Code” in Public Notice 2017-1 that, according to Google Translate (a helpful but very imperfect translator), will be referred to as the … Continue reading The Intrigue Contained In The New China Drug Code

China’s Retreat From Pharma Serialization: Will This Become A Global Trend?

China once had one of the most aggressive pharma serialization mandates of any market.  Their compliance timeline began in 2007 with a list of “essential drugs” and ended in January of this year when, effectively, all drug packages were required to carry a unique serial number.  Shortly after that milestone the government suspended that requirement, … Continue reading China’s Retreat From Pharma Serialization: Will This Become A Global Trend?

DSCSA: Label Artwork Heartaches

One of the surprising things about industry preparations for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) is how hard it is to make label changes to add the new DSCSA product identifier barcode (see “The DSCSA Product Identifier On Drug Packages”).  The artwork changes necessary take a lot longer than everyone originally expected.  Companies with hundreds … Continue reading DSCSA: Label Artwork Heartaches

Is A GS1 GTIN Really Usable As An NDC For DSCSA Compliance? Part 2

Part 1 of this essay provided a wealth of hyperlinks into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and FDA guidance documents with content related to placing the National Drug Code in human- and machine-readable form onto drug packages prior to November 27, 2017 (see “Is A GS1 GTIN Really Usable As An NDC For DSCSA … Continue reading Is A GS1 GTIN Really Usable As An NDC For DSCSA Compliance? Part 2