RxNorm January 2021 Release

RxNorm January 2021 Release. NLM Tech Bull. 2021 Jan-Feb;(438):b1.

The RxNorm January monthly release became available for download on Monday, January 4, 2021. It includes two Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, and a decrease in active National Drug Codes (NDCs). See below for more details. 

RxNorm Data Changes

REMINDER: COVID-19 Vaccines Added to RxNorm

Two COVID-19 vaccines were added to the RxNorm December 23, 2020 weekly releases and are included in the January 2021 monthly release.

Here is the new COVID-19 vaccine Semantic Clinical Drug (SCD) name, RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier (RXCUI), and National Drug Code (NDC) information:

• First COVID-19 Vaccine SCD in RxNorm (Pfizer-BioNTech)
• SCD: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine, mRNA-BNT162b2 0.1 MG/ML Injectable Suspension
• RXCUI: 2468235
• NDC: 59267100001, 59267100002, 59267100003

• Second COVID-19 Vaccine SCD in RxNorm (Moderna)
• SCD: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine, mRNA-1273 0.2 MG/ML Injectable Suspension
• RXCUI: 2470234
• NDC: 80777027310, 80777027399

Get more information about Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA:

• Emergency Use Authorization

See Investigational Drugs in RxNorm for more information about RxNorm’s policy change on investigational drugs from NLM.

Inactive NDCs

Approximately 149 National Drug Codes (NDCs) became inactive on RxNorm terminology normal forms as part of continuous data quality assurance. Users may see additional active content decrease over the next several months as the RxNorm Team continues to work with drug compendia to more correctly represent their obsolete and off-market data.

Related News

RxNorm 2021 Release Schedule

The full RxNorm data set is released on the first Monday of each month. During months when the first Monday is a Federal holiday, RxNorm is released on the first Tuesday. The monthly release schedule for 2021 is:

Date	Day
January 4	Monday
February 1	Monday
March 1	Monday
April 5	Monday
May 3	Monday
June 7	Monday
July 6	Tuesday
August 2	Monday
September 7	Tuesday
October 4	Monday
November 1	Monday
December 6	Monday

Visit the NIH LISTSERV page to subscribe or unsubscribe from RXNORM-ANNOUNCES-L.

COVID-19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation.

Get the latest public health information from CDC: https://www.coronavirus.gov
Get the latest research information from NIH: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus