Virginia Code 54.1-3408.04: Dispensing of interchangeable biosimilars permitted.
A. A pharmacist may dispense a biosimilar that has been licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as interchangeable with the prescribed product unless (i) the prescriber indicates such substitute is not authorized by specifying on the prescription “brand medically necessary” or (ii) the patient insists on the dispensing of the prescribed biological product. In the case of an oral prescription, the prescriber’s oral dispensing instructions regarding dispensing of an interchangeable biosimilar shall be followed. No pharmacist shall dispense a biosimilar in place of a prescribed biological product unless the biosimilar has been licensed as interchangeable with the prescribed biological product by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-3408.04
- Biological product: means a virus, therapeutic serum, toxin, antitoxin, vaccine, blood, blood component or derivative, allergenic product, protein other than a chemically synthesized polypeptide, or analogous product, or arsphenamine or any derivative of arsphenamine or any other trivalent organic arsenic compound, applicable to the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease or condition of human beings. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Biosimilar: means a biological product that is highly similar to a specific reference biological product, notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive compounds, such that there are no clinically meaningful differences between the reference biological product and the biological product that has been licensed as a biosimilar pursuant to Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- dispense: includes only the provision of drugs by a practitioner to patients to take with them away from the practitioner's place of practice. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Distributor: means a person who distributes. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Drug: means (i) articles or substances recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia National Formulary or official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or any supplement to any of them; (ii) articles or substances intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or animals; (iii) articles or substances, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or animals; (iv) articles or substances intended for use as a component of any article specified in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or (v) a biological product. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Interchangeable: means a biosimilar that meets safety standards for determining interchangeability pursuant to Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Label: means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container of any article. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Manufacturer: means every person who manufactures, a manufacturer's co-licensed partner, or a repackager. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Prescriber: means a practitioner who is authorized pursuant to §§ Virginia Code 54.1-3401
- Prescription: means an order for drugs or medical supplies, written or signed or transmitted by word of mouth, telephone, telegraph, or other means of communication to a pharmacist by a duly licensed physician, dentist, veterinarian, or other practitioner authorized by law to prescribe and administer such drugs or medical supplies. See Virginia Code 54.1-3401
B. When a pharmacist dispenses an interchangeable biosimilar in the place of a prescribed biological product, the pharmacist or his designee shall inform the patient prior to dispensing the interchangeable biosimilar. The pharmacist or his designee shall also indicate, unless otherwise directed by the prescriber, on both the record of dispensing and the prescription label, the brand name or, in the case of an interchangeable biosimilar, the product name and the name of the manufacturer or distributor of the interchangeable biosimilar. Whenever a pharmacist substitutes an interchangeable biosimilar pursuant to a prescription written for a brand-name product, the pharmacist or his designee shall label the drug with the name of the interchangeable biosimilar followed by the words “Substituted for” and the name of the biological product for which the prescription was written. Records of substitutions of interchangeable biosimilars shall be maintained by the pharmacist and the prescriber for a period of not less than two years from the date of dispensing.
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