LNE-GMED UK has been designated as a UK Approved Body to assess and certify general medical devices in accordance with Part II of the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002. Scarlet NB UK has been designated with a focus on assessing and certifying software and AI as a medical device (AI/SaMD).
If adopted, companies would have additional time—from 2027 to 2029, depending on the type of device—to gain approval under EU IVDR.
Karandeep Badwal, consultant and president of QRA Medical, discusses the change in focus from EU MDD to EU MDR, and how companies will need to adapt to meet new reporting requirements and maintain compliance in the European market.
EU MDR requires significant reforms to the device labeling process. Manufacturers must ensure that identifiers are correctly applied to products, and that key data elements and formats are accurate. In addition, manufacturers need to have access to centralized data, audit tracking, robust security controls, eSignature capabilities and strong workflow management to ensure compliance.
Megan Coder, Vice President for Product and Policy at the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), discusses the society’s new project aimed at researching global regulations for digital health to create a foundation for approval and patient access that can cut across regions.
Previous EU regulatory acts did not cover products without an intended medical purpose—typically devices with aesthetic indications. This now changes with Annex XVI of the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR). Notified Bodies can assess these products for their conformity with the regulation. However, responsibility for proactively pursuing the EU certificate of conformity for the products rests with the manufacturers.
The draft regulations, “The Medical Devices (Post-market Surveillance Requirements) (Amendment) (Great Britain) Regulations 2023,” serve as an amendment to the existing UK MDR Part 4A post market surveillance requirements, and are currently with the World trade Organisation (WTO) for member comments.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) helps discover serious threats early and in a precise and painless way. However, patient safety may be in danger when medical implants interact with the electromagnetic environment. The developers of such implants are obliged to check the safety of their products under these conditions.
The UK is an appealing market for MedTech businesses, but there are some important issues that companies will need to be familiar with to ensure they fully understand the UK regulatory landscape. The role of the UK Responsible Person is one of the most important.
Device manufacturers may see the EU MDR extension as an opportunity to take their collective feet off the gas. But slowing down or pausing a device’s testing program could jeopardize a successful transition and exacerbate the problem the deadline extension was designed to fix.
