Starting tomorrow companies in the US supply chain wishing to volunteer to participate in FDA-sanctioned Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) pilots will have just 30 days to apply. Applicants are asked to propose pilots aimed at the goals of the FDA program. These include:
Continue reading FDA Announces Start Of DSCSA Voluntary Piloting Program
Beginning in less than two weeks, all packages of prescription drugs entering the EU pharma supply chain must contain a 2D barcode encoding the EU serialized ‘Unique Identifier’ (see “The ‘Unique Identifier’ in the EU Delegated Act”). More importantly, all drugs that have an FMD unique identifier on them at the point of dispense after February 9, 2019 must be “verified” and decommissioned through the National Medicines Verification System (NMVS) (see “What’s So Hard About Unique Identifier Verification?” and “Decommissioning Under the FMD/EUDR”). It looks like my prediction of FMD delays was wrong (see “How Will They Delay The FMD?”) but at least Denmark has just moved to solve a serious FMD dilemma with a kind of delay. Let me explain.
Continue reading FMD: Denmark Moves To Solve FMD Dilemma
I look forward to the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Traceability Seminar every year because it is where the a very large number of the key members of the US supply chain meet to discuss implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). Organizations like the HDA, GS1 US and the FDA often save up their significant news and publications throughout the fall so they can release them with big fanfare at this event. This year was no exception. All three of those organizations made news with their announcements this year. Continue reading 2018 HDA Traceability Seminar Recap
Kevan MacKenzie, Director of Serialization Technology at McKesson, is arguably the leading expert on the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requirements for wholesale distributors, and interactions with their trading partners. IQPC recently interviewed Mr. MacKenzie to get his perspectives on the biggest challenges companies face when preparing for the DSCSA.
MacKenzie’s insights will Continue reading Sponsored: IQPC: The Biggest Challenges Preparing For The DSCSA
I was on an industry call a few weeks ago when someone from a technology vendor suggested that the industry should take some particular action because, it was aligned with “the spirit of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)”. That got me to thinking… Continue reading Does the DSCSA Have A ‘Spirit’
As I was preparing today’s RxTrace essay on Friday I received notice from GS1 Healthcare that China had posted draft guidance for comment for a new pharmaceutical traceability system. I dropped everything and translated the three documents into English for RxTrace subscribers and GS1 Healthcare members to use.
The explanation provided by the China Office of the State Drug Administration for the drafts translates to: Continue reading China Posts New Draft Pharma Serialization Guidelines
The EU Delegated Regulation (EUDR) of the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) mandates that all serial numbers placed on non-exempt drugs entering the EU supply chain after February 9, 2019 must be ‘sufficiently randomised’. What is sufficient randomisation? The regulation says one thing, and the European Medicines Verification Organization (EMVO), the operator of the EU Hub, says something beyond that. What should drug manufacturers do? The EMVO recently updated their messaging. Let’s take another look at this important topic. Continue reading EMVO Admits, ‘Insufficient Randomisation’ Warnings Can Be Ignored
Neither the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) in the United States, nor the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) in the European Union explicitly mandates the capture or use of aggregation data (see “Aggregation –> Chargeback Accuracy –> ROI” and “EU FMD: Aggregation Is Not Mandated, But It Will Be Necessary“). In this instance, “aggregation data” is data that documents the serialized packaging containment hierarchy of drug products—also known as “parent-child relationships”. It is well established that companies are not required by law to capture it, but for the smooth operation of pharma supply chains under a serialization, tracing and/or verification regulation, high quality aggregation data will be necessary. But there are warning signs that a significant percentage of drug manufacturers are not going to meet that bar by the deadlines. Continue reading Aggregation: The Achilles’ Heel of Pharma Supply Chain Operation Under A Serialization Regulation
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