Dear colleagues,
In my December newsletter I would like to summarise all the major changes in medical device regulations and trends in Russia over the past year. So here are the top stories you should know in 2018 if you deal with medical devices in Russia.
- The development of the Eurasian medical device regulation model has been the most important topic for several years now.
In March 2018, the last «second level» regulation, #106, of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) on the requirements for the quality management system (QMS) for manufacturers of medical devices for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) registration procedure (link in Russian) came into force and was postponed for one year to allow for a transition period. These requirements were developed on the basis of international standard ISO 13485; however, the audits will be based on compliance with the requirements of the EAEU QMS regulation but not with the requirements of the ISO standard itself.
Over the year 2018 the EEC released multiple «third level» medical device regulations:
-Recommendations with criteria for interpreting whether or not a borderline product would be considered a medical device within EAEU regulations (link to the document in Russian).
– Regulation #116 (link in Russian) provides definitions, algorithms, and criteria for the registration of the spare parts, elements, modifications, components, and consumable materials for medical devices in the EAEU.
– Regulation #123 (link in Russian) provides criteria for inclusion (grouping) for registration for several modifications to a medical device in one certificate.
– Methodical guidelines exist for medical device registration expertise for EAEU registration (link in Russian).
– Regulation #25 concerns the criteria for classifying products as medical devices in the EAU (link in Russian).
– Regulation #176 concerns the single register of organisations conducting testing/trials for medical devices for registration in the EAEU (link in Russian).
– Regulation #177 provides a single database on the safety monitoring of medical devices in the EAEU (link in Russian).
English translations of most Eurasian medical device documents are available on the official EEC website.
In November 2018, the EEC announced that the first applications to register medical devices under the EAEU medical device system have been filed for review by the competent authorities in Kazakhstan and Russia.
Over the last year there has been a great deal of discussion on the level of competency of the competent authorities and in the media about potential prolongation of the transition period for the EAEU medical device registration system. There is a draft document available for the end of the year 2018, but no official position has been released on this topic and the end of the transition period remains as 31 December 2021.
- Changes and initiatives in the local regulatory systems in Russia and Kazakstan occurred over the year 2018 in parallel with the development of the EAEU medical device system.
– In June 2018, the Russian government released Resolution # 633 (link in Russian) and simplified the registration process for in-vitro diagnostics in Russia, implementing a one-step assessment process (instead of a two-step process, as previously followed) for all classes of IVDs, which has shortened the overall approval process for IVDs by up to several months.
– Likewise, Resolution # 633 (link in Russian) implements improvements for the registration of medical devices with a pharmaceutical component (which was considered a significant roadblock in the approval of such medical devices in Russia) before.
– Another important initiative for Russia (which has not been approved by the end of 2018) is to suggest an expansion of the list of cases when clinical trials involving human subjects are required for the approval of medical devices. The draft document published in May 2018 introduces a requirement for all medical devices IIB and III classes to undergo mandatory clinical trials involving human subjects, which should be conducted in at least two medical organisations following a single clinical trials protocol.
– In August 2018, the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan implemented multiple amendments to the rules for examining (expertise) medicines and medical devices.The published order, #347, (link in Russian) provides the updated requirements for the content of the registration dossier, samples for testing, the procedure for conducting the examination for the registration, and harmonising of the major part of the Kazakh and Eurasian algorithms and requirements for assessment.
- Russia chairs the IMDRF in 2019
In conclusion, it should be especially highlighted that in 2019 Russia will be the chairman of the IMDRF and the next two meetings of the IMDRF will be held in Russia: in March 2019 in Moscow and in September 2019 in Yekaterinburg.
The key topics for the meetings for the next year were highlighted as cybersecurity, premarket reviews, and personalised device regulatory pathways.
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This was the Russian medical device regulatory landscape in 2018.
I would like to thank everyone for following, supporting, and contributing to this blog, my non-commercial project to make Russian and Eurasian medical device regulations clearer for regulatory professionals worldwide.
I would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season!
See you in 2019; there are many exiting things to come.
Alexey Stepanov
Alexey@medicaldevicesinrussia.com
Medical Device Regulations in Russia and Eurasian Union 