On Nov. 18, the Senate passed by voice vote the Drug Quality andSecurity Act, sending to president Barack Obama's desk legislation that implements federal tracking and tracing of drugs and strengthens federal regulations on pharmacy compounding.
The bipartisan bill, which has the support of such trade groups as the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, ties up a couple of problematic loose ends in the pharmaceutical supply chain, namely the so-called "downstream" supply chain, which refers to the path that drugs take from their manufacturers to providers and patients, as well as sterile compounding.
The federal government already regulates the "upstream" supply chain - between manufacturers and their suppliers - but the downstream supply chain has long been regulated through a patchwork of state regulations that allows criminals to sneak counterfeit and adulterated drugs into the national supply chain through states with the laxest regulations. Without such inconsistencies, criminals will no longer find it easy to exploit the system.
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