Sec 32-1981. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Chain pharmacy warehouse" means a physical location for prescription-only drugs that acts as a central warehouse and that performs intracompany sales or transfers of the prescription-only drugs to a group of pharmacies that are under common ownership or control. A chain pharmacy warehouse is not limited to the distribution of prescription-only drugs under this article.

2. "Company under common ownership" has the same meaning as affiliated group as defined in 26 United States Code section 1504.

3. "Intracompany transaction" means any sale, transfer or trade between a division, subsidiary, parent or affiliated or related company under the common ownership of a person.

4. "Normal distribution channel" means the chain of custody for a prescription-only drug that begins with the delivery of the drug by a manufacturer to a wholesale distributor who then delivers the drug to a pharmacy or a practitioner for final receipt by a patient. Normal distribution channel includes the receipt of a prescription-only drug by a common carrier or other delivery service that delivers the drug at the direction of a manufacturer, full service wholesale permittee or pharmacy and that does not purchase, sell, trade or take title to any prescription-only drug.

5. "Pedigree" means a document or electronic file that contains information that records each wholesale distribution of any given prescription-only drug, from sale by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, through acquisition and sale by any wholesale distributor or repackager and until final sale to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the prescription-only drug.

6. "Third party logistics provider" means a person who receives prescription-only drugs only from the original manufacturer, who delivers the prescription-only drugs at the direction of that manufacturer and who does not purchase, sell, trade or take title to prescription-only drugs.

7. "Wholesale distribution" means distribution of a drug to a person other than a consumer or patient. Wholesale distribution does not include:

(a) Any transaction or transfer between any division, subsidiary, parent or affiliated or related company under common ownership and control of a corporate entity.

(b) Selling, purchasing, distributing, transferring or trading a drug or offering to sell, purchase, distribute, transfer or trade a drug for emergency medical reasons. For the purposes of this subdivision, "emergency medical reasons" includes transferring a prescription drug by a community pharmacy or hospital pharmacy to another community pharmacy or hospital pharmacy to alleviate a temporary shortage.

(c) Drug returns if conducted by a hospital, health care entity, retail pharmacy or charitable institution in accordance with 21 Code of Federal Regulations section 203.23.

(d) The sale of prescription drugs by a pharmacy, not to exceed five per cent of the pharmacy's gross sales, to practitioners for office use.

(e) Dispensing by a retail pharmacy of prescription drugs to a patient or patient's agent pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner.

(f) Distributing a drug sample by a manufacturer's representative.

(g) Selling, purchasing or trading blood or blood components intended for transfusion.