Singleton Bill to Require Reports on Drug Manufacturing and Dispensing Information Clears Committee

Trenton – Legislation sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton, which would require pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors to report certain manufacturing and dispensing information, cleared the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.

“New Jersey, and our nation as a whole, is in the midst of an opioid addiction crisis,” said Senator Singleton (D-Burlington). “By requiring drug manufacturers and distributers 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.”

The bill, S-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.

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. The bill was released from committee by a vote of 8-0.