Should Regulations Dictate Technology?

In the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain this question becomes, should regulators—state legislatures, state Boards of Pharmacies, Congress or the FDA—mandate specific technology for serialization, ePedigree and other regulations?  This question arises whenever a new regulation is considered by any of these bodies or agencies.  It’s an important question now that the FDA is considering standards … Continue reading Should Regulations Dictate Technology?

Attributes Of A Global Track & Trace Application

In this essay, I’m not going to discuss the attributes of a track & trace system from a regulator’s point of view.  I’m not going to discuss input into the FDA’s Track & Trace workshop that occurs this week and I’m not going to speculate on the outcome of that meeting.  Instead, I’m going to … Continue reading Attributes Of A Global Track & Trace Application

Certifications In A California-Compliant Drug Pedigree

I’ve been involved in a number of conversations lately that included differing opinions about what will be necessary to “certify” a drug pedigree in California after their pedigree law goes into effect (2015-2017, depending on your role in the supply chain).  It’s a contentious issue, especially for those who wish that a distributed pedigree model … Continue reading Certifications In A California-Compliant Drug Pedigree

Masterpiece: GS1 Tag Data Standard 1.5

GS1 EPCglobal ratified and published the most recent version of the Tag Data Standard (TDS), 1.5.  I have always been a fan of TDS, but earlier versions served as much to expose embarassing disconnects in GS1 standards as they did to explain how to apply GS1 identifiers in an Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) context.  Earlier versions of TDS tightly bound … Continue reading Masterpiece: GS1 Tag Data Standard 1.5

The Importance of Standards

I’ve written before about the importance of supply chain standards and how pedigree standards can be categorized as “communications standards”. I drew the analogy of the importance of standards in making cell phones work together. Because U.S. cell phone companies agreed to make use of certain standards, you are able to call your friends who … Continue reading The Importance of Standards