***NCPD POLICY UPDATE ALERT***
For Immediate Release Contact: Matt Simmons
NCPD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS CONDUCT MEETINGS IN SACRAMENTO ON EFFORTS TO REFORM PEDIGREE LAW Sacramento, CA – Officials of the National Coalition of Pharmaceutical Distributors (NCPD) were in Sacramento Tuesday, June 24, to meet with state legislators and representatives of Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration to discuss competing legislative efforts to reform California’s landmark pedigree law. These efforts are considered significant and among NCPD’s highest priorities, as any changes to California’s existing pedigree law are likely to have direct implications on pending federal pedigree legislation. NCPD Vice President Gene Alley and Chairman Gil Carpenter met with key committee staff members working to advance legislation designed to give California’s Board of Pharmacy (CA BOP) the statutory flexibility necessary to implement the state’s law in a phased-in manner. This measure, SB 1307 (Ridley-Thomas--Los Angeles), would allow the CA BOP to implement the state’s pharmaceutical serialization law with the following major changes: 1) implementation of all prescription products over a three-year period; 2) “grandfathering” of existing inventories at the time of implementation; and 3) authority to allow distributors to “infer” the contents of pharmaceutical product shipments. In an April State Senate hearing, Gene Alley testified in favor of this bill on behalf of the NCPD and reiterated the coalition’s support for this measure during Tuesday’s meetings. SB1307 is presently awaiting consideration by the State Assembly. During meetings with representatives of the Schwarzenegger administration, NCPD’s original position of support for Ridley- Thomas SB 1307, as amended, was reiterated as being the most effective method to ensure safety within the pharmaceutical product chain of custody. It was further indicated that the elimination of California’s pedigree serialization law could potentially prove counterproductive to ongoing efforts to enact federal serialization policy. Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration is currently pursuing legislative efforts to reconfigure California’s pedigree law to eliminate serialization requirements and to adopt a modified “normal supply chain” model. ### NCPD Executive Committee Members Conduct Meetings in Sacramento on
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