Standards Matter: MedTech Europe signs EU standards initiative
Posted on 14.06.2016
The medical technology industry joins multiple stakeholders in committing towards a modern European standardisation system.
MedTech Europe, an alliance of medical technology associations, has signed the Joint Initiative on Standardisation at a stakeholder event in Amsterdam on 13 June. The main purpose of the Joint Initiative is to set out “a shared vision for European standardisation in order to take steps to better prioritise and to modernise the current system, as well as to strive for the timely delivery of standardisation deliverables”.
According to the European Commission, the initiative will better align standard-setting priorities with research and innovation impetus, with support from the EU research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. It will also promote the use of European standards at international level.
John Brennan, Regulatory Affairs and Industry Policies Director at MedTech Europe said that “this initiative is a significant step forward in the development of standards as a tool for the EU single market. Standardisation in medical technology has a key role in setting and improving patient safety, underpinning international harmonisation of regulations and promoting innovation, trade and growth for businesses. We are proud that MedTech Europe is a recognised stakeholder in this initiative.”
Background
Standards are technical specifications for products, production processes, services or test-methods. They facilitate the interoperability of economic operators in the value chain and provide technical certainty, a pre-condition for economic operators to invest.
ABOUT MEDTECH EUROPE
MedTech Europe is an alliance of European medical technology industry associations. The Alliance was founded by EDMA, representing the European in vitro diagnostic industry, and Eucomed, representing the European medical devices industry.
Our mission is to make value-based, innovative medical technology available to more people while supporting the transformation of healthcare systems onto a sustainable path. We promote a balanced policy environment that enables the medical technology industry to meet the growing healthcare needs and expectations of its stakeholders. For more information, visit www.medtecheurope.org.