U.S. flag An official website of the United States government

On Oct. 1, 2024, the FDA began implementing a reorganization impacting many parts of the agency. We are in the process of updating FDA.gov content to reflect these changes.

  1. Home
  2. Regulatory Information
  3. Search for FDA Guidance Documents
  4. Identifying Trading Partners Under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act
  1. Search for FDA Guidance Documents

GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

Identifying Trading Partners Under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act July 2022

Draft

Not for implementation. Contains non-binding recommendations.

Docket Number:
FDA-2017-D-1956
Issued by:
Guidance Issuing Office
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is issuing this guidance to assist industry and State and local governments in understanding how to categorize the entities in the drug supply chain in accordance with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). This guidance revises the Agency’s draft guidance for industry Identifying Trading Partners Under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (August 2017) to address the status of some entities as trading partners (e.g., private-label distributors, salvagers, and returns processors and reverse logistics providers), provide clarification on certain drug distribution scenarios, and address the interpretation of section 582(a)(7) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), which discusses third-party logistics providers (3PL) licensure status prior to the effective date of the forthcoming regulations establishing licensure standards. The DSCSA establishes product tracing requirements for certain trading partners in the drug supply chain, including manufacturers, repackagers, wholesale distributors, and dispensers. The DSCSA also requires that trading partners of manufacturers, wholesale distributors, dispensers, and repackagers must meet the applicable requirements for being “authorized trading partners.” Additionally, the DSCSA requires FDA to issue regulations that establish Federal standards for the licensing of wholesale drug distributors (WDDs) and 3PLs. The Agency is currently drafting these regulations. This guidance, when finalized, will explain FDA’s current thinking on how certain DSCSA requirements apply to entities that are considered trading partners in the drug supply chain.


Submit Comments

You can submit online or written comments on any guidance at any time (see 21 CFR 10.115(g)(5))

If unable to submit comments online, please mail written comments to:

Dockets Management
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Rm 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

All written comments should be identified with this document's docket number: FDA-2017-D-1956.

Back to Top