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Latta to FDA: Use “Track and Trace” to Prevent Opioids From Falling Into the Wrong Hands

Washington, December 6, 2017 | Drew Griffin (202-225-6405)
Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to look at ways that the Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act — also known as “Track and Trace” — could be used to prevent opioids from being diverted from the supply chain and falling into the wrong hands. The Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act was authored by Latta and was signed into law in 2013 as part of the Drug Quality and Security Act. Under the law, FDA is directed to set up a system to follow prescription drugs through the supply chain in order to protect Americans against counterfeit and otherwise illegitimate drugs. In a letter, Latta asks FDA whether they have the necessary tools to identify diverted prescription opioids, whether they recommend Congress provide them additional authority to track and trace diverted drugs, what potential changes could be made to protect consumers, and whether the use of blockchain technology to monitor prescription drugs has been considered by the agency.

The letter says, “We are losing 91 Americans every day from opioid overdoses, and prescription opioids are a driving factor of this devastating trend with nearly half of all these overdose deaths involving a prescription opioid. Furthermore, in my home state of Ohio we are seeing some of the highest overdose death rates in the nation. In 2016, Ohio had a 32 percent increase in deaths from the previous year with at least 4,050 people losing their lives from unintentional drug overdose.

Due to this nationwide crisis, I urge FDA to review ways to better prevent and identify both the diversion of prescription drugs, including opioids, from the U.S. drug supply chain and the introduction of illegitimate prescription drugs (e.g., counterfeit opioids) into the supply chain.”

Earlier this week, Congressman Latta was added to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health which has jurisdiction over FDA and drug abuse issues. Latta has been a leading voice in Congress when it comes to the opioid epidemic, including authoring legislation — the INFO Act — to improve data collection and make public pertinent information.  

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