Dear Colleagues,

There have been no major changes in the regulatory landscape of Russian and Eurasian medical devices for the past month, but  this is my usual newsletter with several short updates which  are good to know if you are interested in medical devices regulation in this region:

1. Updates in Medical Device Control Procedures in Russia

In November several new updates were introduced to strengthen control procedures for medical devices and pharmaceuticals in circulation on the market from Russian healthcare regulators.

On 9 November 2019, the Russian government published Regulation No. 1433 (link in Russian), amending some aspects of the procedure for the inspection of medical devices manufacturers and distributors. According to the published document, within three months, the Ministry of Health is developing a risk indicators  i.e. parameters deviations from which might indicate a likelihood of violations of mandatory requirements for the circulation of medical devices, which are intended to be used for unscheduled inspections.

Under Regulation No. 1459 published on 15 November 2019 (link in Russian), Russian healthcare regulator Roszdravnadzor is empowered to conduct test purchases of medical devices and medicines to verify compliance with regulations, i.e. to check on the sale of falsified, poor-quality and non-registered products.

It should be noted that according to the current regulation, inspections of the medical device manufacturers and distributors are carried out in accordance with the annual plan published by Roszdravnadzor. In limited cases, unplanned inspections may be conducted. Strengthening control of the medical devices on the market is a trend that has been evident in Russia over the last several years.

2. Development of Medical Software Regulation in Russia
In November 2019, the Russian Ministry of Health announced the start of work on the implementation of changes to the classification of the software as a medical device. According to the regulator, improvements should be made following the IMDRF guidelines.

As of today, the medical software is within scope of the Russian definition of a medical device, and some years ago Roszdravnadzor clarified the requirement for its mandatory registration, but to date, no specific guidelines are available in the Russian regulations on medical devices.

3. Simplified Approval Path for Refurbished Medical Devices in Belarus

On 16 November the Belarusian Ministry of Health clarified procedures for obtaining import permits for Belarus in the re-used and refurbished medical devices received as foreign donations. The published letter ( link in Russian) sets out a simplified approval process for refurbished medical devices and rehabilitation equipment of I-Class, on the condition that their residual life is not less than one year.

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