diff --git a/py/MANIFEST.in b/py/MANIFEST.in
index ce3c6e809..716a0e14a 100644
--- a/py/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/py/MANIFEST.in
@@ -4,4 +4,3 @@ include README.md
 include google/fhir/py.typed
 include proto/google/fhir/proto/py.typed
 recursive-include proto/google/fhir/proto *.pyi
-global-exclude *_test.py
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/py/distribution/Dockerfile b/py/distribution/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..57b8253ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/py/distribution/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Copyright 2020 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+FROM python:3.8.6-buster
+
+# Copy repository contents and setup working directory
+COPY . fhir
+WORKDIR /fhir/py
+
+# Establish host <=> container volume for release artifacts
+RUN mkdir -p /tmp/google/fhir/release
+VOLUME /tmp/google/fhir/release
+
+ENTRYPOINT [ "distribution/build_distribution.sh" ]
diff --git a/py/distribution/README.md b/py/distribution/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..03664dce4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/py/distribution/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+# Overview
+
+This directory contains scripts to build binary and source distributions of the
+`google-fhir` Python package.
+
+## Building and testing the release
+
+To generate `sdist` and `bdist_wheel` release artifacts, it is required that the
+host operating system be a supported Linux distribution (Debian >= buster or
+equivalent Ubuntu distro). While only _required_ for Darwin hosts, the usage of
+Docker is encouraged to obtain the most hermetically-selead environment when
+building and testing.
+
+See the [official documentation](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) for more
+on installing Docker for your host.
+
+### Linux
+
+Run `./distribution/build_distribution.sh` from the `//fhir/py/` directory:
+
+```
+un@host:/tmp/fhir/py$ ./distribution/build_distribution.sh
+```
+
+### Docker
+
+The Docker image must be built from the **project root** (`//fhir/`), since we
+include file outside of the immediate Docker [build context](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/build/#extended-description).
+
+First, build the image:
+
+```
+un@host:/tmp/fhir$ docker build -f py/distribution/Dockerfile .
+```
+
+Next, create a directory where you want the resulting artifacts to be placed:
+
+```
+un@host:/tmp/fhir$ mkdir -p <output-directory>
+```
+
+Finally, run the container, and mount your `<output-directory>`:
+
+```
+un@host:/tmp/fhir$ docker run -it --rm -v <output-directory>:/tmp/google/fhir/release <image-hash>
+```
+
+Where:
+
+* `-it`: Tells Docker that we want to run the container interactvely, by keeping
+`STDIN` open even if not attached. It additional allocates a pseudo-TTY
+* `--rm`: Instructs Docker to automatically remove the container once it exists
+* `-v`: Mounts the host directory: `<output-dir>` at `/tmp/google/fhir/release`,
+where the resulting artifacts are generated inside the container
+
+### General
+
+The `build_distribution.sh` will carry out the following steps:
+
+1.  Install necessary system dependencies (at time of writing, `protoc`)
+2.  Install necessary Python dependencies within a virtualenv
+3.  Build `sdist` and `bdist_wheel` Python artifacts
+4.  Instantiate a sandbox "workspace" with appropriate references to necessary
+    runtime testdata
+5.  Execute all tests against both `sdist` and `bdist_wheel` distributions
+
+If all tests pass, the `sdist` and `bdist_wheel` release artifacts are placed in
+`/tmp/google/fhir/release`.
+
+## Installing the release
+
+The output generated from `build_distribution.sh` can be directly installed.
+
+To install the `sdist`, simply:
+
+```
+un@host:/tmp/fhir$ pip3 install <output-dir>/*.tar.gz
+```
+
+Similarly, to install the `bdist_wheel`:
+
+```
+un@host:/tmp/fhir$ pip3 install <output-dir>/*.whl
+```
+
+It is recommend that these steps be performed in a Python virtual environment
+such as [virtualenv](https://pypi.org/project/virtualenv/) or [venv](https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html).
+
+See more about Python packaging from the [official Python packaging
+documentation](https://packaging.python.org/tutorials/packaging-projects/).
diff --git a/py/distribution/build_distribution.sh b/py/distribution/build_distribution.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..3ff345a05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/py/distribution/build_distribution.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copyright 2020 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+# This script creates an sdist and bdist_wheel of google-fhir for Debian/Darwin
+# platforms. Both sdist and bdist_wheel artifacts are installed into a local
+# virtualenv and tested against the full suite of tests (although the test data
+# is not actually shipped with the artifacts themselves).
+#
+# This script should be executed from //py/ and, while not required, is best if
+# executed inside a Docker container. See README.md for more information.
+
+set -e
+set -E
+set -u
+
+FHIR_ROOT="${PWD}/.."
+FHIR_WORKSPACE='com_google_fhir'
+PROTOBUF_URL='https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases/download'
+PROTOC_SHA='4a3b26d1ebb9c1d23e933694a6669295f6a39ddc64c3db2adf671f0a6026f82e'
+PROTOC_VERSION='3.13.0'
+
+# Helper around print statements.
+function print_info() {
+
+  function print_sep() {
+    echo "$(seq -s'=' 0 "$(( $(tput cols) - 1))" | tr -d '[:digit:]')"
+  }
+
+  print_sep
+  echo "$1"
+  print_sep
+}
+
+# Download and install prebuilt Linux binary from URL. URL should point to a
+# compressed (.zip) resource.
+#
+# Globals:
+#   None
+# Arguments:
+#   url: The URL to fetch.
+#   resource: The resource at the basename of the URL (a .zip file).
+#   sha: The SHA256 hash of the resource for verification.
+#   destination: The destination directory to install to. The user must have
+#   sufficient read/write privileges or an error will be raised.
+function install_prebuilt_binary() {
+  pushd /tmp
+
+  local -r url="$1"
+  local -r resource="$2"
+  local -r sha="$3"
+  local -r destination="$4"
+
+  if [[ -f "${destination}" ]]; then
+    echo "File exists at: ${destination}."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  print_info "Installing ${resource}..."
+  curl -OL "${url}"
+  echo "${sha} ${resource}" | sha256sum --check
+  unzip -o "${resource}" -d "${destination}"
+
+  popd
+}
+
+# Helper method to execute all test scripts. The google-fhir package should be
+# installed in an active virtual environment prior to calling.
+function test_google_fhir() {
+  local -r workspace="$1"
+  pushd "${workspace}"
+  find -L . -type f -name '*_test.py' -not -path '*/build/*' -print0 | \
+  xargs -0 -n1 python3 -I
+  popd
+}
+
+# Sets up a google-fhir "workspace" with appropriate subdirectory structure for
+# executing the full test suite against an installed google-fhir package.
+#
+# Globals:
+#   FHIR_ROOT: The parent directory of //py/; necessary for testdata/ and spec/.
+#   FHIR_WORKSPACE: The Bazel workspace identifier of google-fhir.
+# Arguments:
+#   workspace: An ephemeral directory for staging+testing distributions.
+function initialize_workspace() {
+  local -r workspace="$1"
+  mkdir -p "${workspace}/${FHIR_WORKSPACE}"
+  ln -s "${FHIR_ROOT}/testdata" "${workspace}/${FHIR_WORKSPACE}/testdata"
+  ln -s "${FHIR_ROOT}/spec" "${workspace}/${FHIR_WORKSPACE}/spec"
+  ln -s "${FHIR_ROOT}/py" "${workspace}/py"
+}
+
+# Removes the ephemeral workspace and pypi artifacts.
+#
+# Globals:
+#   None
+# Arguments:
+#   workspace: An ephemeral directory for staging+testing distributions.
+function cleanup() {
+  local -r workspace="$1"
+  rm -rf "${workspace}" && \
+  rm -rf *.egg-info && \
+  rm -rf build && \
+  rm -rf dist
+}
+
+function main() {
+  # TODO: Should try and perform some version validation to be more strict
+  if [[ "$(command -v protoc &> /dev/null; echo $?)" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    local -r protoc_resource="protoc-${PROTOC_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.zip"
+    local -r protoc_url="${PROTOBUF_URL}/v${PROTOC_VERSION}/${protoc_resource}"
+    install_prebuilt_binary "${protoc_url}" \
+                            "${protoc_resource}" \
+                            "${PROTOC_SHA}" \
+                            '/usr/local'
+  fi
+
+  # Set the Python version and standup a virtualenv
+  print_info 'Instantiating Python virtualenv...'
+  pip3 install virtualenv
+  python3 -m virtualenv /tmp/venv
+  source /tmp/venv/bin/activate
+
+  # Install/upgrade necessary distutils
+  pip3 install --upgrade pip
+  pip3 install --upgrade setuptools
+  pip3 install wheel
+
+  # Generate output into a "release" subdir
+  # TODO: Separate "build" reqs (e.g. mypy-protobuf) from "install" reqs
+  print_info 'Building distribution...'
+  pip3 install -r requirements.txt
+  python3 setup.py sdist bdist_wheel
+
+  local -r workspace="$(mktemp -d -t fhir-XXXXXXXXXX)"
+  print_info "Initializing workspace ${workspace}..."
+  initialize_workspace "${workspace}"
+  trap "cleanup ${workspace}" EXIT
+
+  print_info 'Testing sdist...'
+  pip3 install dist/*.tar.gz && test_google_fhir "${workspace}" && \
+  pip3 uninstall -y google-fhir
+
+  print_info 'Testing bdist_wheel...'
+  pip3 install dist/*.whl && test_google_fhir "${workspace}" && \
+  pip3 uninstall -y google-fhir
+
+
+  print_info 'Staging artifacts at /tmp/google/fhir/release/...'
+  mkdir -p /tmp/google/fhir/release
+  cp dist/* /tmp/google/fhir/release/
+}
+
+main "$@"
diff --git a/py/google/fhir/r4/extensions_test.py b/py/google/fhir/r4/extensions_test.py
index 6a5e1f420..7cb5206b6 100644
--- a/py/google/fhir/r4/extensions_test.py
+++ b/py/google/fhir/r4/extensions_test.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 """Test extensions functionality."""
 
 import os
+import sys
 from typing import Type
 
 from google.protobuf import message
@@ -26,7 +27,12 @@
 from proto.google.fhir.proto.r4.core.resources import patient_pb2
 from google.fhir import extensions
 from google.fhir import extensions_test
-from testdata.r4.profiles import test_extensions_pb2
+
+try:
+  from testdata.r4.profiles import test_extensions_pb2
+except ImportError:
+  # TODO: Add test protos to PYTHONPATH during dist testing.
+  pass  # Fall through
 
 _EXTENSIONS_DIR = os.path.join('testdata', 'r4', 'extensions')
 
@@ -125,10 +131,16 @@ def testMessageToExtension_withCapabilityStatementSearchParameterCombination_suc
         'capability',
         extensions_pb2.CapabilityStatementSearchParameterCombination)
 
+  @absltest.skipIf(
+      'testdata' not in sys.modules,
+      'google-fhir package does not build+install tertiary testdata protos.')
   def testExtensionToMessage_withDigitalMediaType_succeeds(self):
     self.assert_extension_to_message_equals_golden(
         'digital_media_type', test_extensions_pb2.DigitalMediaType)
 
+  @absltest.skipIf(
+      'testdata' not in sys.modules,
+      'google-fhir package does not build+install tertiary testdata protos.')
   def testMessageToExtension_withDigitalMediaType_succeeds(self):
     self.assert_message_to_extension_equals_golden(
         'digital_media_type', test_extensions_pb2.DigitalMediaType)
diff --git a/py/google/fhir/stu3/extensions_test.py b/py/google/fhir/stu3/extensions_test.py
index 190a69eea..379e326d6 100644
--- a/py/google/fhir/stu3/extensions_test.py
+++ b/py/google/fhir/stu3/extensions_test.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 """Test extensions functionality."""
 
 import os
+import sys
 from typing import Type
 
 from google.protobuf import message
@@ -26,7 +27,13 @@
 from proto.google.fhir.proto.stu3 import resources_pb2
 from google.fhir import extensions
 from google.fhir import extensions_test
-from testdata.stu3.profiles import test_extensions_pb2
+
+try:
+  from testdata.stu3.profiles import test_extensions_pb2
+except ImportError:
+  # TODO: Add test protos to PYTHONPATH during dist testing.
+  pass  # Fall through
+
 
 _EXTENSIONS_DIR = os.path.join('testdata', 'stu3', 'extensions')
 
@@ -125,10 +132,16 @@ def testMessageToExtension_withCapabilityStatementSearchParameterCombination_suc
         'capability',
         extensions_pb2.CapabilityStatementSearchParameterCombination)
 
+  @absltest.skipIf(
+      'testdata' not in sys.modules,
+      'google-fhir package does not build+install tertiary testdata protos.')
   def testExtensionToMessage_withDigitalMediaType_succeeds(self):
     self.assert_extension_to_message_equals_golden(
         'digital_media_type', test_extensions_pb2.DigitalMediaType)
 
+  @absltest.skipIf(
+      'testdata' not in sys.modules,
+      'google-fhir package does not build+install tertiary testdata protos.')
   def testMessageToExtension_withDigitalMediaType_succeeds(self):
     self.assert_message_to_extension_equals_golden(
         'digital_media_type', test_extensions_pb2.DigitalMediaType)
diff --git a/py/google/fhir/utils/annotation_utils_test.py b/py/google/fhir/utils/annotation_utils_test.py
index 9c63e6265..a2f4a02b0 100644
--- a/py/google/fhir/utils/annotation_utils_test.py
+++ b/py/google/fhir/utils/annotation_utils_test.py
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 """Test annotation_utils functionality."""
 
+import sys
+
 from google.protobuf import descriptor_pb2
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from proto.google.fhir.proto.r4 import uscore_codes_pb2
@@ -23,7 +25,12 @@
 from proto.google.fhir.proto.r4.core.resources import observation_pb2
 from proto.google.fhir.proto.r4.core.resources import patient_pb2
 from google.fhir.utils import annotation_utils
-from testdata.r4.profiles import test_pb2
+
+try:
+  from testdata.r4.profiles import test_pb2
+except ImportError:
+  # TODO: Add test protos to PYTHONPATH during dist testing.
+  pass  # Fall through
 
 _ADDRESS_USECODE_FHIR_VALUESET_URL = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/address-use'
 _BODY_LENGTH_UNITS_VALUESET_URL = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/ucum-bodylength'
@@ -143,6 +150,9 @@ def testIsReference_withInvalidReferenceType_returnsFalse(self):
     self.assertFalse(annotation_utils.is_reference(boolean_descriptor_proto))
     self.assertFalse(annotation_utils.is_reference(code_descriptor_proto))
 
+  @absltest.skipIf(
+      'testdata' not in sys.modules,
+      'google-fhir package does not build+install tertiary testdata protos.')
   def testGetFixedCodingSystem_withValidFixedCodingSystem_returnsValue(self):
     """Test get_fixed_coding_system functionality when annotation is present."""
     expected_system = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/metric-color'
diff --git a/py/google/fhir/utils/proto_utils_test.py b/py/google/fhir/utils/proto_utils_test.py
index 40becd491..dde964172 100644
--- a/py/google/fhir/utils/proto_utils_test.py
+++ b/py/google/fhir/utils/proto_utils_test.py
@@ -306,9 +306,11 @@ def testCopyCommonField_notPresentInBothMessages_raisesException(self):
 
   def testGetMessageClassFromDescriptor_returnsMessageClass(self):
     """Tests that the correct class is returned for a message."""
-    self.assertEqual(
-        proto_utils.get_message_class_from_descriptor(
-            patient_pb2.Patient.DESCRIPTOR), patient_pb2.Patient)
+    actual = proto_utils.get_message_class_from_descriptor(
+        patient_pb2.Patient.DESCRIPTOR)
+    self.assertTrue(
+        proto_utils.are_same_message_type(actual.DESCRIPTOR,
+                                          patient_pb2.Patient.DESCRIPTOR))
 
   def testCreateMessageFromDescriptor_returnsMessage(self):
     """Tests that the correct class is returned for a message."""