Tag Archives: saleable returns

Is The FDA About To Delay Enforcement Of The Wholesaler’s 2019 Mandate?

On November 27, 2019 the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requires wholesale distributors to step up their supply chain security activities another notch.  They are required to:

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DSCSA: What Wholesalers Want

Last November pharma manufacturers selling into the U.S. market had to meet a big serialization and verification deadline under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).  Now, pharma wholesale distributors in the United States are facing their own important deadline this coming November.  Remember how manufacturers had to scramble and go through a lot of pain to achieve compliance in time?  Your friendly neighborhood wholesale distributors—big and small—are going through that now.  And the problem is…they can’t do what they need on their own.  They need all drug manufacturers to do something so that they can be compliant with the DSCSA in November.

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GS1’s Messaging Standard For Verification Of Product Identifiers

Verification%20messaging.png

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.  

Continue reading GS1’s Messaging Standard For Verification Of Product Identifiers

DSCSA Verification and Suspect Product

Last week I wrote about the debate over the number of possible responses to verification requests in any potential solution the industry might adopt to meet the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) (see “DSCSA Red Light Green Light: Verification Responses”).  Today I want to take a closer look at a related issue:  the relationship between verification and suspect product.  Most specifically, does a failed verification automatically force a product into the suspect product category?  The answer might surprise you. Continue reading DSCSA Verification and Suspect Product

DSCSA Red Light Green Light: Verification Responses

Yellow stoplight
Even a stoplight has three lights

There is an important debate going on over the last 9 months regarding exactly how many different answers companies should prepare to provide in response to a DSCSA verification request.  Some say two:  “Red light” or “Green light”.  And others say three:  “Yes”, “No”, or “It’s Complicated”.  This might seem like a minor question, but people on each side are surprisingly passionate about their positions.  Let me explain. Continue reading DSCSA Red Light Green Light: Verification Responses

DSCSA Serialization: What Wholesalers Expect

Image of McKesson's sign on their corporate headquarters building in San Francisco, CARecently, several of the larger U.S. wholesale distributors have sent letters to their suppliers to review what they expect from them relative to the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA).  You may recall that these companies have provided requirements in advance of earlier DSCSA deadlines (see “U.S. Drug Wholesale Distributors Provide Direction To Manufacturers“).  These expectations are aimed at the November 27, 2017 serialization requirements and beyond. Continue reading DSCSA Serialization: What Wholesalers Expect

HDA’s 2016 Serialization Readiness Survey

Because of all the major news and developments over the last six months, it has taken me way too long to fully cover the Healthcare Distribution Alliance’s (HDA’s) 2016 Serialization Readiness Survey of drug manufacturers.  In my defense, I did cover it partially in my report of the HDA 2016 Traceability Seminar (see “HDA Delivers Home Run To Record-Breaking Audience”), but the other news from that event seemed to overshadow the survey results.  The HDA survey executive summary was so well done, and the results so important that it deserves closer scrutiny.  So here is my coverage, better late than never. Continue reading HDA’s 2016 Serialization Readiness Survey

First Meeting of the HDA Verification Router Service Task Force

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

As someone who often attempts to explain truth and reality through writing, I can really appreciate the writing skill of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (see “Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.”).  I’ve learned that the best writing has to come from your heart just as much as it does from your head, but I still make mistakes that I don’t expect to see in Dr. King’s writing.  Last week is an example.  By attending the Healthcare Distribution Alliance’s (HDA’s) Verification Router Services (VRS) Task Force meeting in Crystal City, Virginia, I learned more about HDA’s intentions for the design of the VRS. Continue reading First Meeting of the HDA Verification Router Service Task Force