RxNorm October 2020 Release

RxNorm October 2020 Release. NLM Tech Bull. 2020 Sep-Oct;(436):b4.

The RxNorm October monthly release became available for download on Monday, October 5, 2020 and includes a remdesivir NDC change and Regiocit, a drug allowed under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). See below for more details.

RxNorm Data Changes

Remdesivir NDCs Reassigned from Generic to Branded Drug Names

Since April 2020, the National Drug Codes (NDCs) 61958290101 and 61958290201 have been associated with generic remdesivir-related Semantic Clinical Drug (SCD) names. Beginning with the October 2020 release, the NDCs will be associated with the brand name Veklury in new Semantic Branded Drug (SBD) names.

Below is a summary of the changes.

NDC 61958290101 is moving:

• From the SCD remdesivir 100 MG Injection (RXCUI 2284960)
• To the SBD remdesivir 100 MG Injection [Veklury] (RXCUI 2395502)

NDC 61958290201 is moving:

• From the SCD 20 ML remdesivir 5 MG/ML Injection (RXCUI 2367758)
• To the SBD 20 ML remdesivir 5 MG/ML Injection [Veklury] (RXCUI 2395504)

Regiocit Added to RxNorm for Emergency Use

Regiocit, a drug allowed under the U.S. Food & Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), first became available in RxNorm in the September 30, 2020 weekly releases. Regiocit is also included in the RxNorm October 2020 Monthly releases.

Regiocit related names and codes included in RxNorm are:

• SCD: 5000 ML sodium chloride 5.03 MG/ML / sodium citrate 5.29 MG/ML Injection (RXCUI 2397251)
• SBD: 5000 ML sodium chloride 5.03 MG/ML / sodium citrate 5.29 MG/ML Injection [Regiocit] (RXCUI 2397257)

Below are links for additional information.

• Get more information about Regiocit: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=6fa432f1-7cde-4840-80f0-1be19a76f318
• Get more information about FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA): https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization
• Get more information about RxNorm’s policy change on investigational drugs from NLM: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ma20/ma20_rx_norm_investigational_drugs.html

Notice of Upcoming RxNorm Data Changes

As a courtesy to users, this section provides advance notice of possible upcoming RxNorm data changes. More information about each change will be provided or repeated in the future. Please note that planned data changes and timelines may change if issues arise.

• Reminder: Deleting UMLS Metathesaurus UMLSAUI & UMLSCUI in the RxNorm November 2020 Monthly Release
  • The Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) atom unique identifier (AUI) and concept unique identifier (CUI) will not exist in RxNorm beginning with the November 2020 release. In other words, the UMLSAUI and UMLSCUI attributes will be deleted from the RxNorm terminology in the RXNSAT.RRF file. Users can obtain the UMLSAUI and UMLSCUI directly from the Metathesaurus if needed.