Legislation could impact pharmaceutical supply chain

May 31 2013

Early next week, the House is expected to pass legislation that would effectively improve tracking along the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The Safeguarding America's Pharmaceuticals Act, H.R. 1919, is designed to allow manufacturers to better view the status of their products as they pass from distributors to repackagers and eventually to pharmacies. The spirit behind the bill is to alleviate counterfeiting risks by tracing all products back to their source.

This law could have a sizeable impact in Ohio. The sponsor of the bill is Republican Bob Latta, who has represented Ohio's fifth district since 2007. Latta is adamant that his home state serves as a leader in this initiative by implementing solutions to improve supply chain efficiency and transparency in the pharmaceutical industry.

Earlier this month, Latta gave a statement discussing the need for stronger pharmaceutical safety, and described how that fueled his motivation.

"When an individual takes a prescribed medication, they should have full confidence that the medication is real and will not impose harm," he said. "It is of utmost importance that we implement common-sense solutions to safeguard our distribution supply chain against counterfeits and improve security and integrity throughout the supply chain."

This is an opportunity for Cleveland-area businesses to improve the manner in which they manage pharmaceutical deliveries. As this blog discussed recently, the city is increasing its effort to become a well-known entity in the healthcare sector. This is a chance for local organizations to improve the pharmaceutical side of the industry, but doing so requires partnering with the right organizations. Working with a Cleveland logistics company can help businesses in the industry improve all supply chain operations, which will ultimately increase productivity while enforcing regulatory compliance.