Section 4163.5.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:

(1) The electronic pedigree system required by Sections 4034 and 4163 will provide tremendous benefits to the public and to all participants in the distribution chain. Those benefits should be made available as quickly as possible through the full cooperation of prescription drug supply chain participants. To this end, all drug manufacturers and repackagers are strongly encouraged to serialize drug products and initiate electronic pedigrees as soon as possible, and all participants in the supply chain are encouraged to immediately ready themselves to receive and pass electronic pedigrees.

(2) At the same time, it is recognized that the process of implementing serialized electronic pedigree for all prescription drugs in the entire chain of distribution is a complicated technological and logistical undertaking for manufacturers, wholesalers, repackagers, pharmacies, and other supply chain participants. The Legislature seeks to ensure continued availability of prescription drugs in California while participants implement these requirements.

(b) Before January 1, 2015, each manufacturer of a dangerous drug distributed in California shall designate those dangerous drugs representing a minimum of 50 percent of its drugs, generic or single source, distributed in California, for which it is listed as the manufacturer by the federal Food and Drug Administration, which shall be the subject of its initial phase of compliance with the January 1, 2015, deadline of the state's serialized electronic pedigree requirements set forth in Sections 4034 and 4163. Each manufacturer shall notify the Board of Pharmacy of the drugs so designated and the measure or measures used in designating its drugs to be serialized, and shall include in the notification the technology to be used to meet the serialized electronic pedigree requirements. The notification process for these specific actions may be specified by the board.

(c) Before January 1, 2016, each manufacturer of a dangerous drug distributed in California shall designate the final 50 percent of its drugs, generic or single source, distributed in California for which it is listed as the manufacturer by the federal Food and Drug Administration that are subject to the state's serialized electronic pedigree requirements set forth in Sections 4034 and 4163, which shall comply with the state's serialized electronic pedigree requirement by January 1, 2016. Each manufacturer shall notify the Board of Pharmacy of the drugs so designated and the measure or measures used in designating its drugs to be serialized, and shall include in the notification the technology to be used to meet the serialized electronic pedigree requirements. The notification process for these specific actions may be specified by the board.

(d) For purposes of designating drugs to be serialized as required by subdivisions (b) and (c), manufacturers shall select from any of the following measures:

(1) Unit volume.

(2) Product package (SKU) type.

(3) Drug product family.

(e) Drugs not subject to compliance with the pedigree requirements set forth in Sections 4034 and 4163 under this section shall not be subject to the provisions of subdivisions (c), (d), (e), and (f) of Section 4163.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 713, Sec. 14. Effective January 1, 2009. Conditionally inoperative as prescribed in subd. (a) of Section 4034.1.)