Medical Device Regulations & Compliance

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

EKG-Heartbeat-Flatline-Dead-iStock-177096054 AI, Data Integrity, & The Pharma Industry: Let’s Not Wait Until Someone Dies

Simply performing computer system validation or managing computer systems under CGMP conditions is not enough to ensure data integrity and data quality for data sets where AI/ML is intended to be applied.

  • The Medical Device Excise Tax Is A Disaster!
    The Medical Device Excise Tax Is A Disaster!

    Mark Leahey, President and CEO of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA), recently issued a statement in response to President Trump’s State of the Union Address, "While the passage of an additional two-year suspension of the medical device tax is a recognition of how important it is to bolster America’s leadership position in this industry, Congress must permanently repeal this disastrous policy in order to fully realize the long-term investments in patient care and job creation that are critical to growth.” Did he really say – disastrous? Oh yes he did!

  • I Said “No.” Management Said “Yes.” FDA Said “Recall.”
    I Said “No.” Management Said “Yes.” FDA Said “Recall.”

    At most medical device companies, mere utterance of the word recall is akin to mentioning the Dark Lord’s name in the Harry Potter series of novels: it’s simply not done, unless one wishes to invite misfortune upon oneself. In Harry Potter’s world, the Dark Lord (Voldemort) is referred to as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,” a moniker easily coopted by “recall”-averse medical device companies into “That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Said.”

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WHITE PAPERS & CASE STUDIES

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ABOUT MEDICAL DEVICE REGULATIONS & COMPLIANCE

Medical devices, from ideation to post-launch assessment, are regulated in the United States by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Medical Device Regulation Act of 1976 an subsequent amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938.

The FDA’s medical device regulatory pathways — for premarket review, clearance, and approval — are based on three classifications, which indicate the degree of regulatory control necessary to ensure a device’s safety and effectiveness. Class I devices are considered low-risk, and many are exempt from the regulatory process. Class II devices require special controls for “labeling, guidance, tracking, design, performance standards, and postmarket monitoring,” and most require premarket notification 510(k) to demonstrate substantial equivalence (having the same intended use and technological characteristics) to a legally marketed device. Class III devices usually sustain or support life, are implanted, or present a significant risk of illness or injury. Most class III devices require premarket approval (PMA), which examines a variety of factors in weighing the probable health benefits from intended use of a device versus the probable risks.

Medical device makers must adhere to Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations, which FDA inspectors use to determine if a manufacturer has the facilities, skills, and equipment to produce and pack its product. In addition, the FDA recently decreed that all medical devices must carry a unique device identifier (UDI), readable by both machines and humans, to “improve patient safety, modernize device postmarket surveillance, and facilitate medical device innovation.”

Medical device makers competing in international markets must monitor and adhere to the policies of foreign regulatory bodies, which can vary greatly, depending on the nation. For example, countries in the European Union all recognize CE-Mark approval, while the regulatory framework applicable to imported devices still is being built in growth markets like China and India.

Many global regulators require manufacturers to be certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 13485 compliance, confirmed through third-party (notified body) audits, demonstrates a medical device manufacturer’s procedures and products meet or exceed international quality standards.

Efforts are also underway to standardize international regulations to ensure the safety, effectiveness, and quality of medical devices. The International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF) — composed of regulatory agencies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Japan, Russia, and the United States — is building upon previous work by the Global Harmonization Task Force on Medical Devices (GHTF) to speed this harmonization and convergence.

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