Bill Requiring Reports On Drug Manufacturing, Dispensing Information Clears Committee
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Troy Singleton, D-7th District, that would require pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors to report certain manufacturing and dispensing information, cleared the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on Tuesday.
The bill was released from committee by a vote of 8-0.
“New Jersey and our nation as a whole is in the midst of an opioid addiction crisis,” said Singleton in a statement.
“By requiring drug manufacturers and distributors to report exactly how much opioid-related medication they’re producing and to which zip codes they are sending them, we will have additional oversight over these dangerous drugs,” Singleton said.
Senate Bill 2387, would require pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesale distributors to annually report certain manufacturing and dispensing information concerning prescription opioid drugs, medication-assisted treatment drugs, and opioid antidote drugs. Under this bill, the reports would include the name and strength of the drug, the number of doses of each drug, and the zip code of the location where the drug was ultimately delivered for sale or dispensing.
In addition, pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesale distributors would be required to report this information in each of the 10 years immediately preceding the effective date of the bill. The Division of Consumer Affairs would be required to verify the accuracy of the reported data and may require these entities to submit data to a third party auditory for an independent analysis.
Any manufacturer or wholesale distributor that fails to report the required data or fails to obtain a third-party audit will be liable to a civil penalty of $250,000 for each year that it fails to report data to complete the audit.