Tag Archives: FDA

Will Manufacturers Be Able To Grandfather Products In Their DC And 3PL?

Grandfather clockRegulations often make use of a concept known as “grandfathering” to soften a given deadline so that it is easier for companies to meet.  When allowed, grandfathering allows a company to continue doing something after a regulatory deadline that mandates a change, as long as one or more pre-conditions apply.  For example, Section 582(a)(5)(B) of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) allows wholesale distributors, and repackagers to sell drugs that were already within the supply chain on January 1, 2015 without passing the necessary transaction data.  This makes sense because companies were not obligated to supply that data before that date and so some of the assertions required in the Transaction Statement would not be true (among other problems that grandfathering eliminates).  [Of course, Continue reading Will Manufacturers Be Able To Grandfather Products In Their DC And 3PL?

An Open Letter To The FDA, EMA and ANVISA, RE: Who Are You Going To Punish?

Dear FriendDear FDA, EMA and ANVISA,

How are you?  I’m sure your summer has been busy, just like mine.  Hope you were able to get at least some time away.  I’ve taken most Saturdays off, but the other days of the week have been very full with consulting, and then writing RxTrace essays every Sunday.  You know, the wife is not very happy about that!

The reason I am writing directly to you at this time is to ask a question that I hope you are asking yourselves and planning ahead for. Continue reading An Open Letter To The FDA, EMA and ANVISA, RE: Who Are You Going To Punish?

FDA Looking For Consulting Org To Run DSCSA Pilots

FDALogoLast week the FDA quietly posted a Request For Proposal (RFP) on the FedBizOpps.gov government bidding site for a consulting organization to design and implement a program of pilot projects that explore and evaluate methods to enhance the safety and security of the pharma supply chain.  The scope of work is: Continue reading FDA Looking For Consulting Org To Run DSCSA Pilots

FDA Publishes New Guidance Delaying Dispenser 3T Requirements Until November 1, 2015

FDALogoThe FDA updated their website this morning with new guidance that indicates they intend to use enforcement discretion by not enforcing the dispenser requirements to accept and capture Transaction Information (TI),Transaction History (TH) and a Transaction Statement (TS) until November 1, 2015, a four month delay in enforcement.  The document indicates that the FDA’s decision to take this action was based on the fact that “…some dispensers have expressed concern that electronic systems used to exchange, capture, and maintain product tracing information will not be operational by this effective date.Continue reading FDA Publishes New Guidance Delaying Dispenser 3T Requirements Until November 1, 2015

Dispensers Make Last Minute Appeal for Delay in DSCSA Deadline

Less than a week before the July 1, 2015 Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) deadline for dispensers to begin receiving, storing a being able to retrieve Transaction Information (TI),Transaction History (TH) and a Transaction Statement (TS) for every incoming shipment of prescription drugs, a group of pharmacy associations have asked the FDA for enforcement discretion for an unspecified time to avoid “…the possible outcome of disruptions to the supply chain”.  Continue reading Dispensers Make Last Minute Appeal for Delay in DSCSA Deadline

FDA DSCSA Deliverables Are Bunching Up In Second Half of 2015

SNI Guidance Document coverI was poking around on the FDA website yesterday to find out if any new DSCSA documents had been released recently.  I just returned from a near three-week trip to Western Europe and wanted to see if perhaps I missed something.  No.  Nothing released recently.  You can find a list of DSCSA documents released by the FDA on their website and the most recent one was published on December 31, 2014.

Back in January of this year the FDA published their annual list of guidance titles that they think they will publish in the coming year (updated in April).  That list included six titles of guidance documents related to the DSCSA that they expect to either publish in draft form, or finalize.  These include: Continue reading FDA DSCSA Deliverables Are Bunching Up In Second Half of 2015

Vendor Managed Inventory Under the DSCSA

At the counterI wrote this essay on Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) back in 2013 which was aimed at what would likely happen to VMI under the California pedigree law (see “Vendor Managed Inventory Under California ePedigree”).  But even though that law is now obsolete (see “The California Pedigree Law Is Now Officially Inoperative“), surprise, some of the same issues crop up when VMI is performed under the DSCSA.  So I converted the original essay to speak to VMI under the DSCSA.  I think you will agree, it is still pertinent…

One of the complexities of the modern pharmaceutical supply chain occurs when a pharmaceutical dispensing organization “outsources” the management of their on-premises inventory to their supplier, or “vendor”.  This is known as Vendor Managed Inventory, or VMI.  There are several Continue reading Vendor Managed Inventory Under the DSCSA

Sponsored: The Best Source Of UDI Guidance

1573-125x125_June_aniEach year on September 24 the FDA Unique Device Identification (UDI) final rule applies to another set of medical devices in the United States.  That is the anniversary of the publication of the UDI final rule in 2013 (see “InBrief: FDA Publishes Final UDI Rule”).  This year on that date, the set of devices that must comply with the rule includes implantable, life-supporting and life-sustaining devices for the first time.  Manufacturers of those devices should be in the process of making the changes necessary to comply.  And so, it is time again for the best source of Continue reading Sponsored: The Best Source Of UDI Guidance