24:6E-4 Definitions.

5. As used in this act unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

a. "Drug product" means a dosage form containing one or more active therapeutic ingredients along with other substances included during the manufacturing process. The term "drug product" does not include "biological product" as defined in section 1 of P.L.2015, c.130 (C.24:6K-1).

b. "Brand name" means the proprietary name assigned to a drug by the manufacturer thereof.

c. "Established name" with respect to a drug or ingredient thereof, means (1) the applicable official name designated pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (Title 21, U.S.C. s.301 et seq.), or (2) if there is no such official name and such drug or ingredient is recognized in an official compendium, then the official title thereof in such compendium, except that where a drug or ingredient is recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia and in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia under different official titles, the official title used in the United States Pharmacopoeia shall apply unless it is labeled and offered for sale as a homeopathic drug, in which case the official title used in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia shall apply, or (3) if neither (1) nor (2) is applicable, then the common or usual name, if any, of such drug or ingredient.

d. "Prescription" means an order for drugs or combinations or mixtures thereof, written or signed by a duly licensed physician, dentist, veterinarian, or other medical practitioner licensed to write prescriptions intended for the treatment or prevention of disease in man or animals, and includes orders for drugs or medicines or combinations or mixtures thereof transmitted to pharmacists through word of mouth, telephone, telegraph, or other means of communication by a duly licensed physician, dentist, veterinarian, or other medical practitioner licensed to write prescriptions intended for the treatment or prevention of disease in man or animals.

e. "Department" means the Department of Health.

f. "Chemical equivalents" means those drug products that contain the same amounts of the same therapeutically active ingredients in the same dosage forms and that meet present compendial standards.

g. "Reference drug product" means the product which is adopted by the department as the standard for other chemically equivalent drugs in terms of testing for the therapeutic equivalence. In all cases, the reference drug product shall be a currently marketed drug which is the subject of a full (not abbreviated) new drug application approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration.

h. "Therapeutic equivalents" means chemical equivalents which, when administered to the same individuals in the same dosage regimen, will provide essentially the same efficacy or toxicity as their respective reference drug products.

i. "Bioavailability" means the extent and rate of absorption from a dosage form as reflected by the time-concentration curve of the administered drug in the systemic circulation.

j. "Bioequivalents" means chemical equivalents which, when administered to the same individuals in the same dosage regimen, will result in comparable bioavailability.

k. "Pharmaceutical equivalents" means those drug products that contain the same amounts of the same therapeutically active ingredients in the same dosage form and that meet established standards.

l. "Interchangeable drug products" means pharmaceutical equivalents or bioequivalents that are determined to be therapeutic equivalents by the department.

m. "Present compendial standards" means the official standards for drug excipients and drug products listed in the latest revision of the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and the National Formulary (NF).

n. "Dosage form" means the physical formulation or medium in which the product is intended, manufactured and made available for use, including, but not limited to: tablets, capsules, oral solutions, aerosols, inhalers, gels, lotions, creams, ointments, transdermals and suppositories, and the particular form of the above which utilizes a specific technology or mechanism to control, enhance, or direct the release, targeting, systemic absorption, or other delivery of a dosage regimen in the body.

L.1977, c.240, s.5; amended 1993, c.256; 2010, c.87, s.1; 2012, c.17, s.87; 2015, c.130, s.5.