Biologics License Application

BLA

pharmacy

Updated 5/16/2026

Definition

An FDA application submitted by a manufacturer seeking approval to market a biological product such as a vaccine, monoclonal antibody, or blood product. BLA approval requires demonstration of safety, efficacy, and manufacturing quality. BLA approval status is tracked in FDA drug databases and pharmacy formulary systems.

Standard Abbreviation

BLA

Database Usage

-- Example column naming
CREATE TABLE claims (
  clm_id VARCHAR(50),
  bla VARCHAR(100),  -- Biologics License Application (max 100 chars)
  ...
);

-- Example in SELECT
SELECT
  clm_id,
  bla as biologics_license_application
FROM claims;

Common uses in healthcare data

PBM claims adjudication and drug utilization review
Controlled substance monitoring and DEA compliance
Pharmacy data warehouse and ETL pipeline design
Prior authorization and step therapy workflows
Medicare Part D reporting and CMS submissions

Example database column name

ISO-11179 snake_case standard

-- Recommended column name
bla

-- Example DDL
CREATE TABLE healthcare_data (
  record_id   VARCHAR(50)   NOT NULL,
  bla          VARCHAR(100),  -- Biologics License Application (max 100 chars)
  created_dt  TIMESTAMP     NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW()
);

Column names follow the ISO-11179 naming convention: lowercase, underscore-separated, using the standard abbreviation as a prefix where applicable.

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