Today, the Open Serialization Communication Standard (OPEN-SCS) Group, a collection of healthcare sector companies dedicated to standardizing packaging line serialization and aggregation data exchanges, will announce a major milestone in the push to streamline global track & trace processes. At Pack Expo in Las Vegas, the organization will hold a press conference to formally introduce its initial Serialization Standard, the Packaging Serialization Specification (PSS) 1.0. The achievement is to be revealed in Continue reading OPEN-SCS Announces Major Milestone
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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: The U.S. Pharma Supply Chain Must Organize, Or Risk Failure, Again
A couple of days before President Obama signed the DQSA legislation back in 2013 I published an RxTrace essay that looked at what was going to be necessary in the next year from the FDA and the industry (see “DQSA: The U.S. Pharma Supply Chain Must Organize, Or Risk Failure“). The initial standards necessary at that time were for data exchange, and the FDA had one year to come up with them. My essay was about the need for the industry to work with the FDA to come up with the standards that would work. The FDA didn’t have the expertise or the knowledge of how the supply chain operated and so I felt it was imperative for the industry to help them out.
Fast forward to today. Rather than data exchange standards, the FDA is facing Continue reading DSCSA: The U.S. Pharma Supply Chain Must Organize, Or Risk Failure, Again
Sponsored: How Long Until You Are Fully Serialized?
This week, IQPC released the final report of a very interesting survey they conducted in April through June this year. The results are fresh and they paint a picture with good news, and not so good news about the readiness of pharmaceutical manufacturers facing serialization deadlines in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere. The survey focused on serialization planning, implementation progress, traceability in operation and benefits beyond compliance. You can download the full report here, but let’s take a look at the responses to just one of the questions they asked. Continue reading Sponsored: How Long Until You Are Fully Serialized?
DSCSA Red Light Green Light: Verification Responses
There is an important debate going on over the last 9 months regarding exactly how many different answers companies should prepare to provide in response to a DSCSA verification request. Some say two: “Red light” or “Green light”. And others say three: “Yes”, “No”, or “It’s Complicated”. This might seem like a minor question, but people on each side are surprisingly passionate about their positions. Let me explain. Continue reading DSCSA Red Light Green Light: Verification Responses
DSCSA and RxTrace: The Song Remains The Same
Drug manufacturers facing the November 27, 2017 deadline for applying unique identifiers to their products should take care when interpreting the FDA’s recent draft compliance policy. All the headlines scream (including last week’s RxTrace essay: “FDA Delays Enforcement of DSCSA November Deadline: What It Means”) that the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) serialization deadline is delayed, but there are important nuances to the delay. Don’t just read the headlines, read the whole articles. Officially, the deadline remains the same. Yes, the FDA will look the other way for some drugs, but for others, the deadline still appears to apply. How do you know if your drugs are those where the deadline still applies? Read on. Continue reading DSCSA and RxTrace: The Song Remains The Same
FDA Delays Enforcement of DSCSA November Deadline: What It Means
As you have read, the FDA has let it slip, with a draft guidance document, that they have decided not to enforce the DSCSA’s November 27, 2017 deadline for manufacturers to apply the new serialized product identifier on drug packages and verification requirements for one year, but it also contains cascading enforcement delays (see “FDA Tea Leaves: Are They About To Delay The November Deadline?”). This is a major move by the FDA and it will have important consequences for the industry. Let’s break it down. Continue reading FDA Delays Enforcement of DSCSA November Deadline: What It Means
New Must-Read DSCSA Resource
Last week, GS1 US published a free DSCSA resource that every RxTrace reader must have. It’s called “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by the Pharmaceutical Industry in Preparing for the U.S. DSCSA” and it can be downloaded free after registration. Do it now, then come back and finish reading this essay.
The document is 42 pages in PDF form and it Continue reading New Must-Read DSCSA Resource
