HDA to host annual Traceability Seminar

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA, formerly HDMA) will host its annual Traceability Seminar Nov. 9–11, 2016, at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel. The seminar will host supply chain leaders — including distributors, manufacturers, pharmacists and third-party logistics providers — as well as federal/state regulators to discuss upcoming milestones and lessons learned as they continue to implement the Drug Supply Chain Security Act.





“Implementing the DSCSA has been an incredibly collaborative effort on behalf of supply chain stakeholders and state and federal regulators," stated Perry Fri, HDA EVP industry relations, membership and education and COO HDA Research Foundation. "Our Traceability Seminar provides a unique opportunity for distributors, manufacturers, dispensers, solutions providers and regulators to meet in one place to share what they have learned and to identify new opportunities to work together.”





FDA’s Connie Jung, acting associate director for policy and communications, Office of Drug Security, Integrity and Recalls, will deliver a keynote presentation on the DSCSA guidance the agency has provided, how FDA is preparing for the implementation milestones and the agency’s expectations for the pharmaceutical supply chain as it steadily approaches the 2023 completion date.





Another highlight of the seminar will be a presentation of the results from HDA’s Pilot Study for Saleable Returns, which was conducted earlier this year to better understand the operational impact of the DSCSA’s 2019 requirements for distributors to verify serialized saleable returns from customers. A group of industry experts from various manufacturers and distributors conducted a study of nine real-life scenarios that would allow the pharmaceutical supply chain to comply with the requirements related to the 2019 requirements. HDA will outline the workable solutions that were identified through the pilot project.





Additional sessions will touch on meeting global traceability requirements, as well as perspectives from the retail/pharmacy community and technology experts on their priorities for implementation.