Product codes
A product code is an identifier for a product or a specific package. When product data moves between manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, databases and software, each system needs to recognise the right item. Product codes make that possible.
A code is a key to a product record. The digits themselves usually do not describe what a product contains or what it is used for. A different strength, form or pack size may have its own code. National and international systems developed at different times, so the same product can have both a local pharmacy identifier and an international trade item number.
NDC means National Drug Code. In the United States, it identifies drugs in the FDA listing system. Its three segments refer to the labeler, product and package. An NDC does not mean that FDA has approved the drug, and it is not the same as a UPC or GTIN.
GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the international GS1 identifier for a trade item. The digits are usually printed below a barcode. EAN-13 is the barcode symbol used to represent a 13-digit GTIN. People often call the digits themselves an “EAN code”, but GTIN is the number and EAN is the scannable representation on the pack. Barcode history began with UPC in the US in 1973; the European EAN organisation was founded in Brussels in 1977.
In the United States, the NDC identifies drugs in the FDA listing system. A product may also have a UPC or GTIN for trade and package identification. These codes serve different purposes: an NDC is not a retail barcode, and an NDC listing does not mean FDA approval.
Codes used in other markets, such as CNK, PZN and CIP 13, are compared on our international product codes page.
Sources: FDA: NDC Directory · FDA: NDC format · GS1: GTIN and UPC/EAN
No. An NDC identifies drugs in the FDA listing system. A UPC or GTIN identifies a trade item or package. An NDC is not a retail barcode.
Usually not. A code helps a system find the right product. Composition, strength, dosage form, description and other characteristics are held in the product data linked to it.
Yes. A product may have a national pharmacy identifier as well as a GTIN on its packaging. Available codes depend on the product and market.
No. An identifier by itself is not an approval or quality assessment. Its meaning depends on the code system and the responsible authority.
Manufacturers submit their product information once. Medipim checks and processes it, so pharmacies, wholesalers, online shops and software providers can immediately work with usable data. No one has to look up, photograph, enter or correct the same information over and over again. That saves time across the entire supply chain.
Pharmacies and healthcare professionals · Software companies and webshops · Wholesalers
Manufacturers and brands · Wholesalers · Data sources and partners
