PCB Tutorial
Lesson 5 — Coding Drugs, Drug Products and Biologics
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Pharmaceutical Necessities and Containers for Drugs and Biologics — Industry Code 55
Products that are considered Pharmaceutical Necessities or Containers for Drugs and Biologics are coded under Industry Code 55. There is a unique set of Subclass codes for these products. Although no Process Indicator Codes (PICs) are used in this Industry, filers must transmit a dash "-" on the PIC field. The Product Code Builder Application will return a dash automatically.
The Pharmaceutical Necessities or Containers for Drugs and Biologics Classes
The Class codes for Industry 55 are listed in the table below. A few sample products are also provided to further define the class code.
| CLASS | NAME | PRODUCT EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|
| A | Closure | Products in this Industry Class include those closures that are N.E.C. (not elsewhere classified). |
| B | Coating (Closure/ Container) | Products in this Industry Class include coatings for closures and containers that are N.E.C. (not elsewhere classified). |
| C | Non-Metallic Container/ Material | Products in this Industry Class include glass, acrylic, polyvinyl, etc. |
| D | Metallic Container/ Material | Products in this Industry Class include steel, stainless steel, and metallic containers that are N.E.C. (not elsewhere classified). |
| E | Additive in Plastic | Products in this Industry Class include natural (rubber) or synthetics, stabilizers, accelerators, antioxidants, colorants, etc. |
| F | Pharmaceutical Necessity – Capsule Shell |
Products in this Industry Class include gelatin and other capsule shells. |
| P | Pharmaceutical Necessity (Mfr) | The number of products in this Industry Class is very large and is split into three parts – P, Q, and R. This Industry Class includes chemicals, flavors, excipients, etc., used for making drugs. |
| Q | Pharmaceutical Necessity (Mfr) | Same as P |
| R | Pharmaceutical Necessity (Mfr) | Same as R |
| Y | Pharmaceutical Necessity (Mfr) & Container N.E.C. | This Industry Class includes pharmaceutical necessity and container products that are N.E.C. (not elsewhere classified). |
The Pharmaceutical Necessities and Containers for Drugs and Biologic Products Subclasses
The Subclasses for products under Industry Code 55 describes the form of the product.
| SUBCLASS | NAME |
|---|---|
| A | Closure Liners and Seals |
| B | Coatings for Closures |
| C | Coatings for Containers |
| F | Plastic – Natural (rubber) |
| G | Plastic - Synthetic |
| P | Pharmaceutic Necessity |
| Y | Not Elsewhere Classified (N.E.C.) |
Check Your Knowledge
Code the Products
Now you will have a chance to practice coding some Pharmaceutical Necessities and Containers for Drugs and Biologic Products. Below you will find three product descriptions. Read the descriptions and then click on the PCB Application button below. This will take you to the Product Code Builder application.
Have notepaper and a pen or pencil handy. As you code each product, jot down the product code result. When you're ready to check your answers, click the Tutorial button on the Taskbar. The Taskbar is located at the bottom of the screen. This will bring you back here. Caution: Don't click the Tutorial button in the Product Code Builder application, it will take you to the beginning of the Tutorial.
ACRYLIC PLASTIC CONTAINERS
Pharmaceutical Necessities or Containers for Drugs and Biologics
Non-metallic containers and materials for medical products
Plastic — Synthetic
Not used
Acrylic (non-metallic containers and materials)
CINNAMON OIL
Pharmaceutical Necessities or Containers for Drugs and Biologics
Pharmaceutic Necessity
Pharmaceutic Necessity
Not used
Cinnamon Oil (pharmaceutic necessity — flavor)
POLYSORBATE 85
Pharmaceutical Necessities or Containers for Drugs and Biologics
Pharmaceutical Necessity
Pharmaceutic Necessity
Not used
Polysorbate 85 (pharmaceutic necessity — surfactant)
Check your answers — Click on reveal code for each product description to reveal the correct product code. Compare it with the one you got. Did you get the correct code? If not, determine which element was incorrect. You can go back to the Product Code Builder application and try again.