What Will Be the Economic Impact of the New Medical Device Regulation? An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis of Foreign Trade Data

Exploring Impediments Imposed by the Medical Device Regulation EU 2017/745 on Software as a Medical Device

In light of rapid technological advancements, the health care sector is undergoing significant transformation with the continuous emergence of novel digital solutions. Consequently, regulatory frameworks must continuously adapt to ensure their main goal to protect patients. In 2017, the new Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (MDR) came into force, bringing more complex requirements for development, launch, and postmarket surveillance. However, the updated regulation considerably impacts the manufacturers, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, and consequently, the accessibility of medical devices in the European Union market, as many manufacturers decide to either discontinue their products, postpone the launch of new innovative solutions, or leave the European Union market in favor of other regions such as the United States. This could lead to reduced health care quality and slower industry innovation efforts. Effective policy calibration and collaborative efforts are essential to mitigate these effects and promote ongoing advancements in health care technologies in the European Union market. This paper is a narrative review with the objective of exploring hindering factors to software as a medical device development, launch, and marketing brought by the new regulation. It exclusively focuses on the factors that engender obstacles. Related regulations, directives, and proposals were discussed for comparison and further analysis.

American and European legislation on border medical devices

INTRODUCTION

Borderline medical devices are products in a "gray area", this means due to their characteristics, they could belong to different "legal products". In addition, regulation is a controversial topic and may change depending on the country which may put public health at risk and distort the market.

AREAS COVERED

This article analyzes how borderline medical devices are managed in the American and the European legislation. We compared the decisions made by both regulations on the devices of the "Manual on Borderline and Classification Medical Devices" of the European Commission for the first three sections, those which deal exclusively with medical devices.

EXPERT OPINION

Borderline medical devices do not have to be understood as something specific to each country. The different classification of products creates international borders. It is necessary to create working groups in international organizations in which global consensus is reached. Although a priori it seems that the American system could be more efficient, studies with quantitative data from authorized devices are needed to show that. Until EUDAMED is not fully operational and open access, it will not be possible to develop them.