Bar Coding

The need for packaging line control as well as further collaboration among supply chain partners was emphasized during AIM Expo’s panel discussion, “Serialization in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: Lessons Learned and Remaining Challenges,” moderated by Bob Celeste, Director, Healthcare, GS1 US.

When it comes to implementing item-level serialization, most of the pharmaceutical supply chain seems to be waiting for FDA’s next move, or for California’s deadline for electronic pedigrees to get closer. Nonetheless, Purdue Pharma and Pfizer keep forging ahead. These two pharmaceutical manufacturers have been at the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry in piloting and adopting automatic identification technologies at the unit package level to combat counterfeiting and diversion.

As we celebrate the end of 2011, we'd like to take time to point out the year's top articles on www.pmpnews.com. Following are the articles published this year that drew the most page views.

1. Comfort In Parenteral Delivery

Ink-Jet Printer

The Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF) has released its proposal for a draft guidance on a Unique Device Identification (UDI) system that could be used around the world. The goal of the guidance is to provide a common global framework for identifying medical devices, which could facilitate recognizing recalled items and reporting specific devices involved in adverse events. Comments on the draft are welcomed through April 30.

In February 2011, the European Parliament adopted the “Falsified Medicines Directive.” The legislation is intended to protect EU citizens from falsified medicines, which are defined as products that “may contain ingredients in the wrong dosage or no active ingredients at all.” A distinction is made between “falsified medicines” and “counterfeit medicines,” which are defined as “medicines that do not comply with EU law on intellectual and industrial property rights, such as registered trademarks or patent rights.” According to a mem

We hear a lot these days about sunrise dates in the global GS1 System of product identification and related supply-chain standards. A sunrise date is a date in the future, agreed to and typically announced years in advance, at which point an industry or market sector is expected to be prepared to implement a specific technology.