Sacramento, CA (Oct. 9)—The electronic pedigree mandate for prescription drugs has been delayed again. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that delays ePedigree implementation until 2015.

The deadline was first pushed back last March, from January 2009 to January 2011. Now, manufacturers will have another few years to comply with the new requirement.

Under the act, S.B. 1307, a manufacturer selling drugs in California must have an ePedigree for 50% of the drugs it sells in the state by 2015. As of July 2016, wholesalers or repackagers will be prohibited from selling, trading, or transferring a dangerous drug without a pedigree or from acquiring a dangerous drug without receiving a pedigree; the same rule will go into effect for pharmacies in July 2017. A pharmacy warehouse will not be able to acquire a dangerous drug without receiving a pedigree, as of July 2017.

Industry has been keeping an eye on California’s ePedigree rules as they are likely to impact all US manufacturers and set the stage for a national ePedigree standard. It now looks like companies have more than enough time to prepare.

Read the full legislation here.

Read more about ePedigrees:

ePedigree: Using the Gift of Time Wisely

Epedigree in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain