Tag Archives: FDA Guidance

FDA Provides Guidance on DSCSA Exemptions for Covid-19 PHE

FDA explains EUAs under a PHE

Last week the FDA posted new guidance called “Exemption and Exclusion from Certain Requirements of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency” that directly addresses everything I talked about in my last essay, “DSCSA Exemption For Public Health Emergencies” and more.  This new guidance was “fast-tracked” and went direct to “final” status, skipping the “draft” stage used for most guidances.  The FDA determined that the “…prior public participation for this guidance is not feasible or appropriate.”  Things are moving fast at the FDA regarding Covid-19 so if you’re reading this essay more than a week or two after it is published, I suggest you search the FDA website to confirm that its contents are still fully valid.  Make sure you check the links below for more info.

Continue reading FDA Provides Guidance on DSCSA Exemptions for Covid-19 PHE

2018 HDA Traceability Seminar Recap

Dr. Ilisa Bernstein, PharmD, JD

I look forward to the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Traceability Seminar every year because it is where the a very large number of the key members of the US supply chain meet to discuss implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).  Organizations like the HDA, GS1 US and the FDA often save up their significant news and publications throughout the fall so they can release them with big fanfare at this event.  This year was no exception.  All three of those organizations made news with their announcements this year. Continue reading 2018 HDA Traceability Seminar Recap

FDA Posts Two Final DSCSA Guidances And A Draft Product Identifier Q&A Document

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

2018: The Year of FDA DSCSA Public Meetings

Happy New Year, 2018 is here!  Last year, the FDA announced a series of three Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) Public Meetings (see “FDA Announces New DSCSA Pilot Program and Public Meeting Series”).  So far they have held two (see “FDA DSCSA Public Meeting #1 Exposes Gulf In Goals” and “FDA DSCSA Public Meeting #2, Still A Gulf”).  One more is left in that series, to be held on February 28, 2018. Continue reading 2018: The Year of FDA DSCSA Public Meetings

FDA’s New DSCSA Grandfathering Guidance

I have now read the FDA’s new draft Grandfathering Policy that was published on Monday (see “FDA Publishes DSCSA Grandfathering Guidance Exactly 2 Years Late”) and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why it took two extra years beyond the due date to get it out. Back in September of 2015 I posted an essay that analyzed the options they had in front of them (see “Will Manufacturers Be Able To Grandfather Products In Their DC And 3PL?”). All they really had to do was chose from a short list of events that could trigger the drug’s transition into the pharmaceutical distribution supply chain at the time of the effective date. They had the following options: Continue reading FDA’s New DSCSA Grandfathering Guidance

FDA Publishes DSCSA Grandfathering Guidance Exactly 2 Years Late

Today is November 27, 2017, the four year anniversary of President Obama signing the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA) into law (see “It’s Official, President Obama Signs H.R. 3204, DQSA, Into Law”), and it is the two year anniversary of the due date for the FDA to publish four guidance documents—one of the four on grandfathering (see “FDA DSCSA Deadline Passes Quietly”).  And today they have finally met that requirement, for grandfathering at least.  One overdue Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) guidance down, three to go (see “Who Is Being Harmed By Four Overdue FDA DSCSA Guidances?”, “Is The FDA Intentionally Delaying Publication Of The Overdue DSCSA Guidance?“, and “”).  (The DSCSA is Part 2 of the DQSA.) Continue reading FDA Publishes DSCSA Grandfathering Guidance Exactly 2 Years Late

Identifying Trading Partners Under the DSCSA

The FDA published a new draft guidance yesterday with explanations intended to dispel various kinds of confusion over the five kinds of trading partners defined in the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) text.  They are clearly on a roll, with the combination of the recent draft compliance policy, pilot and public meeting announcements, and now this draft guidance exceeding all of the DSCSA-specific communications they produced last year.  We’ll know for sure that the logjam has been cleared when we finally see one of the four mandated guidance documents that were originally due on November 27, 2015 (see “Who Is Being Harmed By Four Overdue FDA DSCSA Guidances?“).  But what about this new one? Continue reading Identifying Trading Partners Under the DSCSA

Two-For-One FDA Guidance Docs

Back in February I noted the steep drop in public inspection documents posted by the FDA immediately after President Trump took office (see “One Immediate Impact of President Trump On The FDA”).  For that essay I created a graph that clearly showed the steep drop.  But that was only one month after the new President took office.  What has happened since then?  This week I updated my graph so we can see how things are progressing.  Continue reading Two-For-One FDA Guidance Docs