It’s been eleven months since the FDA held their public hearing to collect ideas for fixing the National Drug Code (NDC) system (see “FDA Seeks Input On The Future Format of the National Drug Code” and “FDA New NDC Format Public Meeting”). The FDA, themselves, estimated that they may have as little as 10 years before they run out of Labeler Codes, and that was over a year ago. So now we have less than nine years? My friends, it’s almost time to panic because the FDA seems to have dropped the ball after hearing from the industry that they would need at least ten years to prepare for any changes that the FDA may make (see “FDA New NDC Format Public Meeting”).
Last week GS1 US announced that they have published a new implementation guideline to help companies in the US pharma supply chain make use of the new GS1 lightweight messaging standard for verification of product identifiers to meet the saleable returned drug verification requirement of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). The messaging standard itself was ratified by GS1 in January and it can be used to implement a wide range of product verification schemes in any industry. The new GS1 US guideline is a valuable resource for companies wanting to apply that standard to the problem of verifying drugs that fall under the DSCSA, so it contains a wealth of information needed to ensure interoperability of Verification Router Service (VRS) solutions.
Some countries mandate the use of GS1 standards for drug product identification and package and case barcodes. The European Commission seems to tolerate GS1 standards, leaving it up to each member state to decide. Most use them, a few held onto their own national codes as long as they could. China is taking their time warming up to the GS1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) but it seems to be happening. That is, I think it’s happening. The United States has always had its own national numbering system for identifying drugs, known as the National Drug Code (NDC) (see “Anatomy Of The National Drug Code”). Because they are running out of numbers to identify new manufacturers (labelers), they are considering changes to the NDC that could break the ability to encode an NDC within a GTIN (see “How To Properly Define GTINs For Your NDCs”, “FDA New NDC Format Public Meeting” and “An Open Letter To The FDA: New NDC Format Public Meeting”). The USA is not the only country to be considering a break with GS1 standards. Indonesia will allow QR Codes on drug packages, and now there is a movement in the India government to move away from GS1 standards. What’s going on here? Can GS1 hold onto drug identification around the world? Let’s take a look.
GS1 makes modifications and additions to their General Specifications every year—sometimes even twice a year. The latest is version 19 and was published in January 2019. The “GenSpecs” contain the full detailed definitions of every GS1 “key” and every GS1 barcode. While it doesn’t contain the definitions of every GS1 standard, it is the catch-all specification for their traditional core—mostly barcode related—standards. This is where GS1’s keys are defined, included the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN, Application Identifier, or AI = 01), Global Location Number (GLN), Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC, AI = 00), Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI, AI = 8003) and all the others. Last year (GenSpecs version 18) GS1 introduced their latest key, the Global Model Number (GMN, AI = 8013). It’s an important addition, particularly for healthcare. Let me explain.
For companies in the US pharma supply chain, 2019 is going to be the year of an important milestone of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). In November, wholesale distributors will be required to begin issuing verification requests to manufacturers, at the Standardized Numerical Identifier (SNI) level, for any returned drug that is still saleable, before they resell it. I’ve written a lot about this change in the past.
At a recent GS1 discussion group meeting one of the
moderators acknowledged that they need to create a clear explanation for
exactly what EPCIS is. I’ve never been
very impressed with GS1’s ability to explain their own standards at a high-level
for non-technical readers. They do a
great job of explaining them at the minutia-level, but that’s the problem. Non-technical people who must make decisions
about GS1 standards probably get bogged down in that minutia and end up not
really understanding what it is, why it is significant, and why they should use
it. Too much technical documentation
exists on how to apply EPCIS, and not
enough documentation on the why.
…a comprehensive exploration of the intersection between healthcare supply chains, track and trace technology, standards and global regulatory compliance
DISCLAIMER: RxTrace contains some of the personal thoughts, ideas and opinions of Dirk Rodgers. The material contained in RxTrace is not legal advice. Dirk Rodgers is not a lawyer. The reader must make their own decisions about the accuracy of the opinions expressed in RxTrace. Readers are encouraged to consult their own legal counsel and trading partners before taking any actions based on information found in RxTrace. RxTrace is not a vehicle for communicating the positions of any company, organization or individual other than Dirk Rodgers.
After November 27, 2017 the U.S. 