(a) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall convene a working group comprised of the Commissioners of Consumer Protection and Emergency Services and Public Protection, or their designees, a member of the Commission of Pharmacy, the chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health, or their designees, and representatives of retail drug establishments, independent pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The working group shall be responsible for submitting recommendations to the Governor and to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health concerning the development and implementation of a program to authenticate the pedigree of prescription drugs distributed in this state.

(b) For purposes of this section, (1) “authenticate” means to affirmatively verify, before any distribution of a prescription drug occurs, that each transaction listed on the pedigree has occurred; (2) “pedigree” means a document or electronic file containing information that records each distribution of any given prescription drug, from sale by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, through acquisition and sale by any wholesale distributor or repackager, until final sale to a pharmacy or other person dispensing or administering the prescription drug; and (3) “prescription drug” means any drug, including any biological product, except for blood and blood components intended for transfusion or biological products that are also medical devices required by federal law or regulations, to be dispensed only by a prescription, including finished dosage forms and bulk drug substances subject to Section 503(b) of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.