On Thursday, May 16th, Zachary Brennan reported, on in-PharmaTechnologist.com, that the bill H.R. 1919 has advanced passed the US House Energy & Commerce Committee. The bill, written by Rep. Bob Latta promises to further secure the US prescription drug supply chain and will now move to a full House of Representatives debate. Joe Pitts, Health Subcommittee Chairman and supporter of H.R. 1919, commented by saying, “Securing the supply chain through this bill will help insure that counterfeit or stolen drugs do not enter the supply chain and harm patients.” The bill sets requirements in milestones for what must be done by two, five, and seven years in the future. Within two years the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must create one or more pilot projects to evaluate the safety and security of the pharmaceutical supply chain. In five years, manufacturers must provide transaction history and have an identifier on any prescription drug that has intent to be sold. In seven years, wholesale drug distributors will only be allowed to sell if every package has been encoded to the bill’s description. To read the full article click here.
