Tag Archives: Guidance

WHO Publishes Draft Policy Brief for Medicines Traceability Regulations

Late last month the World Health Organization (WHO) published a draft “policy brief” for comments by February 28, 2020.  The draft is aimed at regulators of medicines around the world who might be considering the development of new medicines traceability mandates.  That pool of countries shrinks each year as more and more new mandates are announced, but considering the wide variations in the quality of the existing regulations, guidance aimed at those who would create new mandates is welcome.  Let’s take a look at the draft.

Continue reading WHO Publishes Draft Policy Brief for Medicines Traceability Regulations

HDA Guidelines For Bar Coding In The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

It has been six years since the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) updated their full barcode guidelines (see “Updated HDMA Bar Code Guidance: A Must Read”).  They just updated it again with major changes over the 2011 version.  The new document is called “HDA Guidelines For Bar Coding In The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain” and it is available on HDA’s website here.  With the passage of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) in November of 2013, an update was long overdue.

You are forgiven if you thought the HDA updated the barcode guidelines only one year ago Continue reading HDA Guidelines For Bar Coding In The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

FDA Limits Ongoing Dispenser Enforcement Discretion To First Responders

iStock_000022846474_smallerBack in October the FDA announced the extended use of enforcement discretion to temporarily set aside the data exchange provisions of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) for dispensers until March 1, 2016 (see “FDA Extends Dispenser Delay in DSCSA Enforcement“).  That was itself an additional four month extension to the four month enforcement discretion they originally announced on June 30 (see “FDA Publishes New Guidance Delaying Dispenser 3T Requirements Until November 1, 2015“).  Many dispensers were hoping for another extension in these last few days of February.  It turns out, the enforcement discretion will be extended until further notice, but apparently mostly just for first responders. Continue reading FDA Limits Ongoing Dispenser Enforcement Discretion To First Responders

The Official Suspension of the Three-Lot Pilot in Brazil

395px-Coat_of_arms_of_Brazil.svgOn October 23, 2015, a very brief resolution was published in the Official Diary of the Union (Diário Oficial da União) (Brazil’s equivalent to the U.S. Federal Register) which formally suspends the 3-lot track and trace pilot that drug registration-holders were formerly required to complete by December 10 of this year (see “Brazil Suspends Pharma Serialization And Tracing Requirements”).  Apparently, that makes it official.  The new resolution is numbered RDC-45 and it is dated October 22, 2015.  Of course, this new resolution is only available officially in Portuguese, but here is an unofficial translation of its core contents in English: Continue reading The Official Suspension of the Three-Lot Pilot in Brazil

GS1 Healthcare US Publishes Updated Guidance For DSCSA

GS1 HcUS ImplGuide 1.1I happened to be chatting with Bob Celeste of GS1 Healthcare US yesterday at the LogiPharma conference in Princeton, NJ where he was about to speak, when he found out that version 1.1 of their guideline had just been published on their website.  The full title of the 137 page document is “IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINE, Applying GS1 Standards to U.S. Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Business Processes FOR THE DRUG SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY ACT AND TRACEABILITY R1.1 — SEP 12, 2014”.  You can download a free copy from their web page.

I will have more to say about this document in a few weeks when I have time to review it more fully, but this is the long awaited update that brings the earlier version up-to-date with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).  The 1.0 version of the guideline, published in March of last year, was Continue reading GS1 Healthcare US Publishes Updated Guidance For DSCSA

FDA Posts Small Entity Compliance Guide For UDI and GUDID

CDRH.CBER.logosYesterday the FDA posted a new document on their website with the title, “Unique Device Identification System: Small Entity Compliance Guide, Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff”.  The document is 23 pages long and it includes an explanation—in what the FDA calls “plain language”—of the FDA’s Unique Device Identification (UDI) system and the Global Unique Device Identification Database (GUDID).  It is aimed at small businesses, but it is a good read for anyone who wants an overview of the regulation.  The guidance contains non-binding recommendations for companies who must meet the UDI final rule, including makers of class III medical devices, which must comply by September 24 of this year.

The document was a requirement under Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.  That act requires the FDA to Continue reading FDA Posts Small Entity Compliance Guide For UDI and GUDID

The Differences Between The DSCSA, FDA Rules and Guidance

???????????From reading the responses to the FDA docket requesting public feedback on standards for interoperable information exchange, I think it is time to review the difference between laws, FDA Rules and FDA guidance, like those stemming from the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).  It appears that some people might be confusing these a little.

Dr. Connie Jung, RPh, PhD, Acting Associate Director of Policy and Communications, in the Office of Drug Security, Integrity and Recalls, in the Office of Compliance within the U.S. FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, helped put it all into perspective for me.  During one of the breaks at the recent FDA DSCSA Workshop (see “The 2014 FDA DSCSA Workshop“)  I asked Dr. Jung what the odds are Continue reading The Differences Between The DSCSA, FDA Rules and Guidance