Falsified Medicines Directive to Go Full Steam Ahead Regardless of Brexit
The Falsified Medicines Directive is going to proceed at full pace, regardless of Brexit. Those were the comments of Martin Sawer, the Executive Director of wholesale representative body, the...
...Healthcare Distribution Association, addressing this year's Sigma Conference. Gareth Jones, Head of Public Affairs at the National Pharmacy Association, also spoke of the 'big bang' that pharmacy is going to face when FMD comes into force.
FMD is amongst the biggest issues facing the pharmaceutical supply chain, with changes affecting everyone on the chain. It will involve new ways of checking that the medicines that are supplied, distributed and ultimately dispensed are genuine and not counterfeits. There will be new bar codes and scanning devices, with data held and checked from a central repository. It is going to involve complex and major changes for people on the pharma supply chain.
There had been question marks amongst some as to whether FMD, being a European Union led law, would survive Brexit. However, as Mr Sawer has confirmed, it will do so.
Comment
People on the pharma supply chain need to start planning now for the changes that are being introduced in February 2019. VWV are holding an event in July with an array of speakers from people across the supply chain who are involved in introducing the new processes - from branded and generic suppliers through to pharmacists, including wholesalers and parallel traders. FMD will touch everyone. The speakers at our event include Gareth Jones and Martin Sawer.