EU MDR/ IVDR PROPOSED PUSH

DID YOU KNOW

​On January 6, 2023 the European Commission, a political and regulatory steering committee consisting of a group of 27 Commissioners, known as 'the College', adopted a proposal to give more time to device OEMs to certify medical devices under EU MDR to mitigate the risk of shortages. The proposal, which now needs to be adopted by the European Parliament, could push out MDR requirements several years.  Higher risk devices such as pacemakers and joint implants would have a shorter transition period till December 2027, whereas lower risk devices, such as syringes or reusable surgical instruments wouldn't be until December 2028.

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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

Regardless of EU Parliament's decision to potentially extend MDR, device OEMs should consider the following as we hedge through 2023:
1. Strategies for US product approval and or commercialization will continue to increase as OEMs seek alternative pathways to potentially avoid EU MDR compliance.

2. As a result of #1, support to aide OEMs in their go-to-market strategy will intensify causing a shortage for resources, while potentially lengthening the process to get to approvals (supply & demand constraints - notified bodies and consulting firms experience increases in demand causing support shortages).  This will be especially true with remediation work.

3. The idea of putting off or slowing MDR related efforts in the interim to re-focus on other activities may provide momentary relief, however it also creates a long-term liability in the business.  This liability comes with a variety of future unknowns: regulatory landscape, inflation, cost of resources, CRO and notified body constraints, etc.  If you must achieve MDR compliance our recommendation is to get it done and over with in the present. 
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4. Work associated with achieving MDR compliance can be easily underestimated, especially if you have legacy product where your CE mark was granted pre mid 2000s.  The burden to meet MDR requirements may be steep, which is all the more reason to avoid procrastinating said efforts as outlined in #4. 

SOLVING THE PROBLEM

​The quickest way to overcome a business challenge is to get help from those who are experienced in besting your beast!  The team at Square-1 Engineering is comprised of a variety of technical and project management professionals who are subject matter experts in the areas of NPD, Quality, Compliance (and yes - remediation) and Manufacturing Engineering.  Learn more about how we can solve your compliance problems while besting your EU MDR beast!

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