Last week the FDA posted final versions of two DSCSA guidance documents, and, a new draft Product Identifier Q&A document. The two final guidance documents include the grandfathering policy and the product identifier compliance policy that delayed enforcement of the product identifier and verification requirements until November 27, 2018. These documents are companions to each other, which is to say that they are pretty tightly related, and that’s why FDA Continue reading FDA Posts Two Final DSCSA Guidances And A Draft Product Identifier Q&A Document
Tag Archives: DSCSA
How Will They Delay The FMD?
There is now little doubt that the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) will need to be delayed. The only question is, how will they do it? Let’s look at some facts and try to come up with a possible answer. Continue reading How Will They Delay The FMD?
Does the DSCSA Have A ‘Spirit’
I was on an industry call a few weeks ago when someone from a technology vendor suggested that the industry should take some particular action because, it was aligned with “the spirit of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)”. That got me to thinking… Continue reading Does the DSCSA Have A ‘Spirit’
FDA Seeks Input On The Future Format of the National Drug Code
Last week the FDA published a notice of a public hearing and request for comments regarding the impact of any future changes made to the length and format of the National Drug Code (NDC). The current format of the NDC has been around since the early 1970s (see “Anatomy Of The National Drug Code”). It has served the FDA, healthcare professionals and patients well since that time, but it is showing its age. I call its affliction, “Identifier Failure” and I point out all of the symptoms for the aging NDC system in my essay “NDC Nearing Its End, Afflicted by ‘Identifier Failure’”.
It appears that the FDA recognizes these problems Continue reading FDA Seeks Input On The Future Format of the National Drug Code
Aggregation: The Achilles’ Heel of Pharma Supply Chain Operation Under A Serialization Regulation
Neither the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) in the United States, nor the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) in the European Union explicitly mandates the capture or use of aggregation data (see “Aggregation –> Chargeback Accuracy –> ROI” and “EU FMD: Aggregation Is Not Mandated, But It Will Be Necessary“). In this instance, “aggregation data” is data that documents the serialized packaging containment hierarchy of drug products—also known as “parent-child relationships”. It is well established that companies are not required by law to capture it, but for the smooth operation of pharma supply chains under a serialization, tracing and/or verification regulation, high quality aggregation data will be necessary. But there are warning signs that a significant percentage of drug manufacturers are not going to meet that bar by the deadlines. Continue reading Aggregation: The Achilles’ Heel of Pharma Supply Chain Operation Under A Serialization Regulation
Personalized Medicines In A Serialized World
The era of personalized medicines has begun. These are medicines that are tailored specifically for a single patient, using that patient’s specific DNA or other blood characteristic as a guide or actual source component. The new chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T) is an exciting example. It results in the conversion of a patient’s own T-cells into cells that are able to recognize the specific type of cancer cells that the patient has, and thus able to attack them in the same way that normal T-cells attack normal infectious cells. In short, it’s a way of manipulating a person’s own immune system to attack cancer cells that it would normally be blind to. When it works, the results can be breathtaking. The question is, how are these drugs treated under today’s serialization and tracing regulations? Let’s take a look. Continue reading Personalized Medicines In A Serialized World
HDA Responds To FDA Waivers, Exceptions, Exemptions Draft Guidance
The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) recently posted their response to the latest draft Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) guidance published by the FDA. That draft guidance explains how, when and why companies in the US pharma supply chain can apply for waivers, exemptions and exceptions to provisions in the DSCSA (see “FDA Draft Guidance: How To Apply For A Waiver, Exception or Exemption”). As usual, the HDA took close to the full sixty day comment period to respond. The comment period closed last Monday. Continue reading HDA Responds To FDA Waivers, Exceptions, Exemptions Draft Guidance
Newly Published Material From HDA and C4SCS
I was on vacation last week and only arrived home Sunday evening so I didn’t have time to write an essay for Monday, but this is Tuesday! Near the end of last month there was a spike in the number of things that need to be covered in RxTrace. Two of them are important things from HDA and the Center For Supply Chain Studies. I’ve been waiting for both for months, and here they are. Continue reading Newly Published Material From HDA and C4SCS
