JNJ: We Want Federal E-Pedigree Standards

Mike Rose, VP of Supply Chain Technology at Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), testified at Tuesday’s Senate Hearing called Protecting Consumers by Protecting Intellectual Property. He was refreshingly unambiguous on JNJ’s position regarding e-pedigree, saying:

“Within the US, a federal standard is required for electronic pedigree.”

and

“The federal government can and should take the lead in establishing a single federal standard for electronic pedigree.”

(You can read his full statement here.)

He’s absolutely correct. Complying with a grab bag of state laws does little more than add unnecessary costs without an equivalent increase in safety. Inconsistent state laws ignore the fact that today’s pharmaceutical supply chain is a national business for drug makers, large wholesalers, and multi-state pharmacy chains. Read my op-ed Securing the Supply Chain for more.

At the same time, pharmacists are mounting an effort to slow down or stop the movement to a national e-pedigree standard due in part to the implementation costs associated with track-and-trace. (See Pharmacists Haggle over Pedigree Costs.)

On Monday, I’ll look at the new NACDS/NCPA study that estimates first year track-and-trace costs to be $110,000 per pharmacy. Get ready for an industry-wide debate over a timely and heretofore unanswered question: How much supply chain security are we willing to pay for?