The data problem
NDCs describe products, not comparable drugs
NADAC publishes acquisition-cost benchmarks at the NDC level. Comparing products by NDC alone can obscure equivalent formulations sold by different labelers or in different packages.
NADAC drug pricing
Convert NADAC NDCs to RxCUI for drug pricing analysis
Add standardized RxNorm concepts to CMS NADAC records so acquisition-cost benchmarks can be compared by ingredient, strength, and clinical drug—not only by package-level NDC.
The analyzable result
One standardized RxNorm layer
Map the NADAC NDC field to RxNorm and use ingredient or Semantic Clinical Drug as an analytical grouping key. Keep NDC for the direct NADAC join and use RxNorm for comparable drug-level summaries.
Three steps
From source file to analysis-ready data
Collect NADAC NDCs
Export the unique NDC values from the NADAC dates and product types relevant to your pricing study.
Enrich with RxNorm
Upload the NDC list and download RxCUI concepts, ingredient names, strengths, and dose forms.
Compare prices
Join the crosswalk to NADAC and summarize acquisition costs across clinically equivalent products.
Verified example
Add a clinical layer to package-level pricing
| ndc_code | IN_ingredient | SCD_semantic_clinical_drug | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00093-1048-01 | Metformin | Metformin hydrochloride 500 MG Oral Tablet | 500 MG |
| 00071-0155-23 | Atorvastatin | Atorvastatin 10 MG Oral Tablet | 10 MG |
| 00054-8174-25 | Dexamethasone | Dexamethasone 1 MG Oral Tablet | 1 MG |
Example mappings were checked against the public NIH NLM RxNorm API. RxCUI supports drug-level grouping; the original NDC remains the appropriate key for a direct NADAC record join.
What this unlocks
- Compare NADAC values across labelers for a common clinical drug.
- Separate ingredient, strength, and dose-form effects in price analysis.
- Create consistent drug groups across weekly NADAC snapshots.
- Preserve NDC as the authoritative key for direct CMS record matching.
Make your NDC file analysis-ready
Preview your mapped rows before payment. $0.001 per NDC, with a $1 minimum and $25 maximum per upload.
Start converting