Drug manufacturers, contract manufacturers (CMOs) and contract packagers (CPOs) are all working hard right now preparing to meet the November 27, 2017 deadline when all prescription drugs entering the U.S. market must contain the new machine- and human-readable product identifier defined in the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) (see “The DSCSA Product Identifier On Drug Packages“). The date for repackagers is one year later (see “Who Is A DSCSA Repackager?”). From what I hear around the industry, some companies are going to make that date, but some will not. What will happen next for those how are not ready? I discussed this from a regulator perspective last year in one of my personal favorite essays, “An Open Letter To The FDA, EMA and ANVISA, RE: Who Are You Going To Punish?”, but what about from the perspective of those who will be late? Continue reading How Will The DSCSA Serialization Mandate Be Enforced After 2017?
Tag Archives: Grandfathering
Who Is Being Harmed By Four Overdue FDA DSCSA Guidances?
Happy Martin Luther King Day!
Congress set the calendar for many different kinds of requirements when it adopted the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, signed by the President back on November 27, 2013. One of those dates was last November 27, 2015, two years after enactment, when the FDA was required to publish four new draft guidances. So far, none of them have appeared (see “FDA DSCSA Deadline Passes Quietly”). Continue reading Who Is Being Harmed By Four Overdue FDA DSCSA Guidances?
HDMA Updates Q&A For DSCSA
I was on the HDMA’s website last week doing some research for one of my clients, and I found that the HDMA has updated their highly regarded Q&A document that provides answers to questions related to the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). I have reviewed this document before in its previous incarnation and view it as one of the best resources out there for all supply chain participants (see “InBrief: HDMA Updates DSCSA Q&A“). Each time they update it they Continue reading HDMA Updates Q&A For DSCSA
Insufficient Transitional Measures Doom The FMD-EUDA
The pharmaceutical supply chain in most markets is complex, but in my view, the one in the European Union easily takes the prize for being the most complex of any other. The addition of unit-level serialization and verification of authenticity to that supply chain over the next few years as required by the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and the Delegated Act (EUDA) is going to be difficult (see “Breaking News: The EC Has Published The Delegated Act“). It represents a huge change to the way drugs are packaged and how they are handled by each entity in the supply chain. It is vital that the transition Continue reading Insufficient Transitional Measures Doom The FMD-EUDA
Will Manufacturers Be Able To Grandfather Products In Their DC And 3PL?
Regulations 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?
The New Grandfathering Provisions Of The California Pedigree Law
At the February 5, 2013 meeting of the California Board of Pharmacy the Board took the final vote to proceed with filing a number of important clarifying regulations–the first since the Ridley-Thomas bill was enacted in 2008 that established the current staggered effective dates. These include the recognition of the FDA Standardized Numeric Identifier (SNI) as the “unique identifier” for use on each drug package, and definition around how supply chain companies can grandfather their existing non-serialized, non-pedigreed stock at the time the law goes into effect.
The official minutes of the meeting are not yet available but the video has been posted for a few weeks now. The pertinent action occurs in the first video of the two day meeting at approximately 2:24:00 (hours:minutes:seconds). (Don’t you just love government meetings on YouTube?) The source text of the pending regulation (which is Continue reading The New Grandfathering Provisions Of The California Pedigree Law
