The Enhanced Drug Distribution Security (EDDS) phase of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) is due to begin on November 27, 2023. That’s the first day that the US pharma supply chain is supposed to fully operate with serial numbers. Yes, serial numbers in human readable and encoded into 2D barcodes will be on every drug packaged after November of this year, but there is only limited use of those serial numbers in the supply chain until 2023. But when the EDDS starts, everything changes. From that point on, every Transaction Information (TI) document must include the full DSCSA Unique Identifiers—including the serial numbers for the first time—that are physically included in the shipment, the Transaction History (TH) no longer needs to be exchanged, and the data exchange requirements change. Let’s focus in on those data exchange changes. Continue reading EDDS: The New Data Exchange Requirements
Tag Archives: drug serialization
FDA DSCSA Public Meeting #2, Still A Gulf
The gulf in expectations and goals exposed in the first FDA Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) Public Meeting back in August (see “FDA DSCSA Public Meeting #1 Exposes Gulf In Goals” and “HDA Schools FDA On DSCSA”) was still visible in the second meeting last week. There is still one more announced meeting scheduled for February 28, 2018 for the FDA and the industry to align (see “FDA Announces New DSCSA Pilot Program and Public Meeting Series”). Based on my observations at these first two meetings, I’m not going to hold my breath. The FDA is likely to announce more meetings in 2018.
The FDA did adjust their position on at least one thing after the August meeting. Continue reading FDA DSCSA Public Meeting #2, Still A Gulf
Sponsored: Don’t Miss These Back-To-Back Pharma Serialization and Tracing Events
There is a rare alignment of events that will happen in the first week of December that is so special that you need to put it on your calendar. There are two important pharma serialization events that will occur in the Washington DC area and anyone with a serious interest in that subject should attend both. These events line up perfectly to allow you to travel once, and spend four days that will solidify your understanding of the issues and opportunities embedded within the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) in particular, and pharma serialization in general. Continue reading Sponsored: Don’t Miss These Back-To-Back Pharma Serialization and Tracing Events
DSCSA Serialization Delay Eclipses Grandfathering
On August 21st, large portions of the United States and other places will experience a total eclipse of the sun by the moon. On November 27th, the serialization and verification delay of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) contained within the FDA’s recent draft compliance policy (see “FDA Delays Enforcement of DSCSA November Deadline: What It Means”) will eclipse the grandfathering guidance that hasn’t even been published yet. In fact, the overdue grandfathering guidance should be easy for the FDA to write now (see “Who Is Being Harmed By Four Overdue FDA DSCSA Guidances?”). Grandfathering probably just won’t exist. Here’s why. Continue reading DSCSA Serialization Delay Eclipses Grandfathering
Is Your Drug Too Small For The Mandated 2D Barcode?
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?
Will Manufacturers Have Trouble Verifying Some Drugs Next Year?
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?
In Absence Of FDA Guidance, Follow PDSA Recommendations
The Pharmaceutical Distribution Security Alliance (PDSA) is a coalition of companies and organizations dedicated to the safety and integrity of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. When the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) went into effect on November 27, 2013 the PDSA began to serve as a voice for its members in communications with the U.S. FDA. Their preferred way of communication is through formal letters signed by their legal advisor, Vince Ventimiglia. PDSA letters to the FDA are really interesting because they do an excellent job of providing recommendations for the FDA to consider as they prepared to publish the four guidance documents that were due back on November 27, 2015. The FDA has still not published those documents. Continue reading In Absence Of FDA Guidance, Follow PDSA Recommendations
ANVISA Reveals Draft Serialization Regulation and Asks For Comments
Last week, the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA), the healthcare regulator in Brazil, published a draft of their proposed pharma serialization regulations aimed at meeting the requirements of the new law number 13.410 of December 28, 2016 (see “Brazil Gets Rational With Their New Pharma Traceability Law”). The purpose of this new publication is to solicit comments from interested parties. It is called “Public Consultation No. 311 of February 15, 2017”. This is not a final regulation—the public consultation ends on March 17, 2017, after which changes to the text, based on the feedback collected, are likely before it becomes final—but it provides us with a solid view of ANVISA’s thinking, and that amounts to a big win for the industry, and for Brazil. Now is the time to read it over and submit your comments to help make it even better. Continue reading ANVISA Reveals Draft Serialization Regulation and Asks For Comments
