September 2026 Electronic Mailbags
September 3, 2026
September 17, 2026
September 24, 2026
FDA Workshop on National Drug Code Format Changes
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) is informing the boards of pharmacy of an upcoming intergovernmental workshop hosted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss changes to the National Drug Code (NDC) format.
FDA issued a final rule in March 2026 titled “Revising the National Drug Code and Drug Label Barcode Requirements.” The rule, effective March 7, 2033, will change the format of the NDC assigned to drugs in the United States.
FDA is hosting an intergovernmental workshop on Thursday, December 10, 2026, from 9 AM to 12 PM EST. In-person attendance is encouraged, and the workshop will be held in the Great Room at FDA’s White Oak Campus in Silver Spring, MD. Virtual attendance is also available.
Pre-registration is mandatory and must be completed by November 10, 2026. An agenda and additional logistical details will be shared with registrants in the coming weeks. Registration information is included in the attached invitation.
If you have any questions, contact the FDA’s Intergovernmental Affairs team via email at IGA@fda.hhs.gov.
Supply Chain Security & Safety Summit Taking Place in December 2026
NABP will hold the Supply Chain Security & Safety Summit at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, IL, December 2-3, 2026.
All executive officers are invited to attend. If you cannot attend, you may designate another board staff person in your place. There is no registration fee for board of pharmacy staff to attend, and NABP covers the cost of travel and lodging.
Executive officers will receive an invitation to register for the summit by the second week of September. If you wish for another staff member to attend instead, you may submit that person’s name and email using the online form that will be included in the invitation. NABP staff will email an invitation to the designated staff.
Quarterly Compliance Officer Roundtable and Training Webinars
NABP is pleased to announce two new offerings designed for compliance officers, chief compliance officers, and investigators. NABP’s Member Relations and Government Affairs Team will facilitate both programs, with subject matter experts from NABP’s Accreditation and Inspections Team participating.
Compliance Officer Roundtable Discussion
NABP will host a quarterly Compliance Officer Roundtable Discussion. This 1-hour virtual call is held on the fourth Friday of each quarter at 11 AM CST. The series launches on October 23, 2026.
These calls provide compliance professionals with a peer-to-peer forum to discuss topics of interest, ask questions, and learn from one another. Ahead of each session, NABP will contact registered participants to solicit agenda topics.
Quarterly Educational Webinar Series
NABP will also offer a quarterly educational webinar series addressing compounding and other compliance topics. The schedule for the first two webinars is as follows:
- Webinar 1: November 18, 2026, 11 AM – 12 PM CST
“Compounding Cornerstones,” presented by Betty Jones, RPh, Compliance Senior Manager, Accreditation and Inspection Programs, NABP - Webinar 2: January 28, 2027, 11 AM – 12 PM CST
Topic: USP <800> Hazardous Drug Compounding, presented by Fred Massoomi, PharmD, BCSCP, FASHP
Additional details, including registration information, will be shared as each session approaches. We encourage you to share this announcement with relevant staff members and welcome their participation.
If you have any questions, contact the Member Relations and Government Affairs Team at governmentaffairs@nabp.pharmacy.
NABPLAW Upgrade and Subscription Fee Increase
NABP is pleased to launch an upgraded version of NABPLAW Online to provide users with improved navigation and research capabilities. A valued resource for boards, NABPLAW Online is a comprehensive database that provides easy access to state pharmacy laws and regulations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
NABP anticipates to rollout the new platform in phases, which will include an easy-to-navigate table of contents and summaries generated by artificial intelligence. To help offset the cost of the improvements, NABP will increase the cost of the board of pharmacy unlimited subscription from $295 to $450, which is just a fraction of the cost for outside organizations. This is the first time in 20 years that NABP will raise the price for board of pharmacy subscriptions, despite increasing program costs. As always, a board of pharmacy subscription provides board staff with unlimited user access. The price increase is anticipated to go into effect on October 28, 2026, when the new platform is launched.
If you have any questions or would like a demonstration of NABPLAW Online’s capabilities, feel free to reach out to prof-affairs@nabp.pharmacy.
Nominations for the 2027 NABP Leadership Awards to be presented at the 123rd NABP Annual Meeting
Nominations are currently being accepted for the following NABP Leadership Awards: 2027 Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award, 2027 Fred T. Mahaffey Award, 2027 Carmen A. Catizone Honorary President Award, and the 2027 John F. Atkinson Service Award. The awards presentation will take place at the 123rd NABP Annual Meeting, May 11-14, 2027, at the Roosevelt New Orleans in New Orleans, LA.
Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award
Originally known as the Distinguished Service Award, it was renamed by NABP to serve as a memorial to the 1990-1991 NABP President Lester E. Hosto, whose motivating presence in the practice of pharmacy was recognized by practitioners of his state, pharmacy leaders across the nation, and former United States President Bill Clinton.
This award is the highest honor bestowed by the Association. To be considered, nominees must meet the following criteria:
- exemplary effort to protect the public health, and
- strong commitment to furthering the goals and objectives of NABP.
Any individual who meets the criteria may be nominated for the Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award, regardless of their member affiliation with NABP.
Fred T. Mahaffey Award
This award was named after the late NABP Executive Director Emeritus Fred T. Mahaffey, who held the executive director position from 1962 to 1987. His leadership and contributions to NABP, state boards of pharmacy, and the protection of the public health were significant and established NABP as one of the leading pharmacy organizations.
This award is reserved for member boards of pharmacy. To be considered, the board of pharmacy must meet the following criteria:
- made substantial contributions to the regulation of the practice of pharmacy over the past year;
- contributed to protecting the public health and welfare through the enforcement of state and federal laws and regulations;
- contributed to the advancement of NABP goals and objectives as specified in the Association’s Constitution and Bylaws; and
- be an active or associate member board of pharmacy.
Carmen A. Catizone Honorary President Award
The award was renamed in 2020 to honor former NABP Executive Director/Secretary Carmen A. Catizone, who served the Association for 35 years. The award honors Catizone’s unwavering leadership, commitment, and dedication to NABP and its mission of protecting the public health.
To be considered for the distinction of honorary president, nominees must meet the following criteria:
- service on at least one NABP committee or task force;
- participation in NABP/American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy District Meetings and NABP Annual Meetings;
- exemplary services for, or on behalf of, NABP;
- strong commitment to NABP, the mission of the Association to protect the public health, and the practice of pharmacy; and
- affiliation (either current or past) as a board member or as an administrative officer of an active or associate member board.
To submit a nomination for honorary president, you must be from an active or associate member board.
John F. Atkinson Service Award
This award was named in honor of the late John F. Atkinson, former NABP general counsel, who served the Association for more than 40 years.
To be considered, nominees must meet the following criteria:
- provided NABP with exemplary service in protecting the public health, and
- made exceptional accomplishments related to pharmacy law and compliance.
Nominations for the NABP Leadership Awards must be received at NABP Headquarters no later than December 31, 2026. Letters of nomination, along with a brief biography and current resume or curriculum vitae of the nominee, must include an account explaining why the nominee should be considered for an award.
An electronic nomination form is available on the NABP website. The NABP Executive Committee will review the nominations and select the awards recipients.
For more information, contact ExecOffice@nabp.pharmacy.
Pulse Regulator Roundtable Meeting Update
Pulse by NABP® staff is continuing its board of pharmacy meeting series, now rebranded as the Pulse Regulator Roundtable, on an updated schedule. Most sessions will feature open discussions about the Pulse platform, with select meetings including panelists on Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) topics.
September Meeting Recap
The September 15 Regulator Roundtable, “Pharmacy to Pharmacy Sales Platforms: Where DSCSA Obligations, Licensure, and Diversion Risk Converge,” brought together the Pulse team and two guest panelists – Shabbir Safdar, CFE, Executive Director, Partnership for Safe Medicines, and Dave Mason, Regional Supply Chain Compliance and Serialization Lead, Novartis – to examine online platforms that connect pharmacies to buy and sell excess or short-dated inventory, an area that has grown quickly and that most boards have not yet closely examined. Topics included:
- how these platforms function,
- where the transactions they facilitate fall inside or outside the wholesale distribution definition,
- what DSCSA requires of the parties involved, and
- what enforcement questions boards should be asking during inspection and licensure review.
A recording is available for you and your staff.
Upcoming Meetings
The following Regulator Roundtable meetings are scheduled for the coming months. All sessions are held from 11 AM to 12 PM CT.
- Tuesday, November 17, 2026
- Tuesday, January 19, 2027
- Tuesday, April 20, 2027
- Tuesday, July 20, 2027
- Tuesday, October 19, 2027
Zoom meeting invitations for future sessions will be sent to executive officers by Christine Del Priore Dobies, Senior Product Manager, Pulse. Email the Pulse team at info@pulse.pharmacy if you wish to invite board staff to future meetings.
Additional information about the Pulse Regulator Roundtable series, including upcoming dates, session details, and recordings, can be found on the Pulse website. You can also expect to receive email updates about future meetings.
If you have any questions, contact the Pulse team at info@pulse.pharmacy.