Tag Archives: PDMA

DSCSA

The 2 Most Helpful Requirements In The DSCSA

There are lots of impactful requirements in the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), but there are two whose impact will likely increase the safety of patients far more than all of the others.  That is, they are the most helpful requirements.  Do they include serialization?  Verification?  Transaction documentation?  Wholesaler and 3PL licensing?  Not even close.

The two requirements that I believe will have the biggest impact on the safety of drugs in the US supply chain are the requirement to only engage in transactions with authorized trading partners, and the lot number being included in the 2D barcode.  Let me explain. Continue reading The 2 Most Helpful Requirements In The DSCSA →

DSCSA

DSCSA: Special Privileges For The “Big-3” Wholesale Distributors, Part 1

iStock_000011736093SmallerAre you a pharmaceutical manufacturer who is acting as a wholesale distributor, as defined by the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), for some of your products?  This might occur if you are buying pre-packaged drugs from the New Drug Application (NDA)-holder or Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA)-holder and offering them for sale to U.S. wholesale distributors.  If you cannot justifiably fit into the DSCSA definitions of either a “co-licensed partner”, or an “exclusive distributor” for those drugs, you might as well remove them from your catalog because the “Big-3” wholesale distributors—AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson—probably will not be willing to buy them anymore as of next January.

That’s because the DSCSA, which begins to take effect at that time, will most likely consider you as a Continue reading DSCSA: Special Privileges For The “Big-3” Wholesale Distributors, Part 1 →

DQSA of 2013

How the DQSA Will–And Won’t–Protect The Supply Chain, Part 1

SuperheroThe supply chain provisions contained within the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA)—themselves known as the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)—mark a significant achievement by Congress and the industry to protect the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain from criminals.  It is the first completed attempt since 1987 when the Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) was enacted by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan.  In comparison, the provisions of the DSCSA are much more detailed and extensive than the PDMA and they read as if they were heavily influenced by people who solidly understand the scale and complexity of the legitimate supply chain.  Which, they were, based on the contribution of the Pharmaceutical Distribution Security Alliance (PDSA)—made up of key stakeholders in the supply chain—in their development.  That should ensure that the industry will be able to adopt the technology and process modifications necessary to meet the new law on time.

But will all this also lead to true protection of the supply chain from criminal activities?  Will the DSCSA portion of the DQSA end up presenting new and insurmountable barriers against criminals who game the supply chain to their advantage and thereby putting patients at risk?  These are the true measures of the success of this type of legislation.  How can we know if the DSCSA will have these positive affects? Continue reading How the DQSA Will–And Won’t–Protect The Supply Chain, Part 1 →

Florida Pedigree

Preemption: What Does It Mean?

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State pedigree laws rearviewOn November 27, 2013 President Barack Obama signed the Drug Quality and Security Act of 2013 (DQSA) into law (see “It’s Official, President Obama Signs H.R. 3204, DQSA, Into Law“).  That act has many provisions, but one is to preempt all existing and future state pharmaceutical serialization and pedigree laws like those that previously existed in California and Florida.  Because of the preemption language contained within the DQSA, the information contained within many previous RxTrace essays is now obsolete.  Some essays are entirely obsolete and some are only partially obsolete.  This is because many of these essays contain ideas and discussion about topics that will also apply to the new federal law in almost the same way that they applied to the California and/or other state laws that are now inoperative.  In those cases, the ideas and discussion are not obsolete, only their application to the state law(s) is now obsolete.

To address this issue I have Continue reading Preemption: What Does It Mean? →

Congress, Federal Pedigree

The Federal Lot-Based Pedigree Before Congress

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SANYO DIGITAL CAMERAImportant Notice To Readers of This Essay On November 27, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the Drug Quality and Security Act of 2013 into law. That act has many provisions, but one is to pre-empt all existing and future state serialization and pedigree laws like those that previously existed in California and Florida. Some or all of the information contained in this essay is about some aspect of one or more of those state laws and so that information is now obsolete. It is left here only for historical purposes for those wishing to understand those old laws and the industry’s response to them.The current drafts of the nationwide pharmaceutical track and trace (Pedigree) bills on the floors of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives both include an initial lot-based pedigree requirement that may be based on paper or electronic documentation (see “The Politics Of Federal Track & Trace Legislation”).  What is a lot-based pedigree and how is it different from one based on package-level serial numbers?  Let’s take a closer look at the kind of system that these bills would require.  Keep in mind that the Senate bill would mandate this kind of pedigree system for the next 10 years and the House bill would make it permanent.

First of all, according to both bills, pharma manufacturers would be required to Continue reading The Federal Lot-Based Pedigree Before Congress →

California Board of Pharmacy, Federal Pedigree

California Responds To The Senate Pharma Track & Trace Discussion Draft

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BoP Not QuiteImportant Notice To Readers of This Essay On November 27, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the Drug Quality and Security Act of 2013 into law. That act has many provisions, but one is to pre-empt all existing and future state serialization and pedigree laws like those that previously existed in California and Florida. Some or all of the information contained in this essay is about some aspect of one or more of those state laws and so that information is now obsolete. It is left here only for historical purposes for those wishing to understand those old laws and the industry’s response to them.On April 26, 2013, Stanley C. Weisser, R.Ph. and President of the California Board of Pharmacy, replied to the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee regarding their discussion draft of a potential federal pharmaceutical track & trace law that had been published one week before.  Writing on behalf of the California Board, the letter is eight pages long and includes some very detailed expressions of concern over a few specific sections of the draft.  It is well worth reading carefully.  You can ask the Board of Pharmacy for a copy, or you can see the copy I obtained here.

This is a significant document because it provides the best clues we have into how Continue reading California Responds To The Senate Pharma Track & Trace Discussion Draft →

Federal Pedigree, Sad News

The House Hearing on ‘Securing Our Nation’s Prescription Drug Supply Chain’

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House Engergy and Commerce CommitteeLast Monday the Health Subcommittee of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Joe Pitts (R-PA16), published their own discussion draft of a national pharmaceutical track & trace bill and then on Thursday they held a hearing to discuss elements of it with a select group of witnesses.  The draft was sponsored by Representatives Robert Latta (R-OH5) and Jim Matheson (D-UT4).  The previous Friday the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee published a different discussion draft on the same topic, but held no hearing (see “The New Pharma Track & Trace Discussion Draft In The Senate”).  In my essay about the Senate version I noted that Continue reading The House Hearing on ‘Securing Our Nation’s Prescription Drug Supply Chain’ →

PDMA

How Pedigrees Protect The Drug Supply: The Case Against Cumberland Distribution

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Cumberland DistributionOn January 17, 2013 a federal grand jury indicted three individuals in 28 counts connected with Cumberland Distribution, a pharmaceutical distribution company licensed in Tennessee, on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.  Notably, some of the evidence used against the alleged co-conspirators are the pedigrees that they allegedly forged in an attempt to make their business look legitimate to their unsuspecting customers.

Now, as the press release about the indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), Middle District of Tennessee points out, “An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”  So let’s just look at the evidence and how the DoJ is using it to build their case against the defendants in this case.  From that we can see what impact pedigrees might have in other cases like this.

The charges are for activities that Continue reading How Pedigrees Protect The Drug Supply: The Case Against Cumberland Distribution →