in vitro diagnostics

On 1 July 2024, Germany has enacted stricter requirements for the processing of health data when using cloud-computing services. The new Section 393 SGB V aims to establish a uniform standard for the use of cloud-computing services in the statutory healthcare system which covers around 90% of the German population. In this blog post, we describe the specific…

This article was originally posted on our sister blog Inside Medical Devices

On October 5, 2015, after three years of continued discussions and negotiations on the modernization of EU medical devices and IVD rules, the Council of Ministers of the EU countries (“the Council”) agreed on a full General Approach on the review of the medical devices and IVD framework. The European Commission considers this as “a major step forward towards the adoption of new regulations on medical devices to help guarantee a high level of health and safety protection for EU citizens using these products.”

This agreement is based on the technical work of the Permanent Representatives Committee of EU countries which finalized the Council’s position on the draft Medical Devices and IVD Regulations on September 23, 2015. The core substance of the Council’s position was already agreed in a partial General Approach on the draft EU medical devices package on June 19, 2015 (for details please see our previous post of early September). The final agreement of October 2015 does not deviate from the substance of that partial agreement of June 2015. The main difference is that it includes a general approach on the recitals of the draft Regulations on medical devices and IVD. Preambles of EU legislative instruments do not have a binding effect; however, they are useful in the interpretation of rules and usually consulted by EU and Member State institutions and courts in their application of the law.
Continue Reading EU Agreement on a General Approach on the Medical Devices Package

This post was originally published on our sister blog Inside Medical Devices.

On June 19th, 2015, the Council of EU Ministers reached a partial General Approach on the review of the medical devices and in vitro medical devices (IVD) rules in the EU (an overview of the texts is accessible here).  The General Approach does not yet include the recitals to the new medical devices and IVD regulations.

The Council’s text on the new IVD Regulation significantly amends the Commission’s proposed definition of ‘companion diagnostics’, an evolution relevant to sponsors of both medicinal products and diagnostic devices.  The Council’s definition of companion diagnostics is almost identical to the definition used by the FDA, but significantly different from the European Commission’s proposal and the European Parliament’s suggested amendments.  An overview is set out below.
Continue Reading IVD Regulation and Companion Diagnostics – EU Council Dramatically Changes Definition