The Top Medical Device Trends in 2020

Is your life sciences company primed for growth?

By adopting the latest medical device trends, your organization can achieve significant growth, improve time to market, and outpace the competition.

But what medical device trends should your organization keep tabs on? With so many new medical device updates and developments, it's hard to keep track of the most promising trends.

As an industry-leading quality management system provider, we've identified some of the most exciting medical device trends that your organization should adopt this year.

The Top Medical Device Trends in 2020

Before investing in any of these medical device trends, it's wise to select the trends that align with your organization's unique goals. How will the investment substantiate your company's mission? By taking stock of your organization's objectives, you'll have a much easier time prioritizing the right trends.

Here are the most promising medical device trends of 2020.

1. European Union Medical Device Regulation Preparation

European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) readiness has dominated medical device manufacturer's focus recently. If you are a manufacturer, authorized representative, importer, or distributor of medical devices in the EU, compliance is required. Here are some of the most significant regulatory requirements:

• Eliminate or reduce risks as much as possible, taking protection measures in relation to risks that cannot be eliminated
• Provide information for safety and train users as appropriate
• Inform users of any residual risks, eliminating or reducing risks related to use error
• The characteristics and performance shall not be adversely affected during the lifetime of the device
• The characteristics and performance are not adversely affected during transport and storage
• All known and foreseeable risks shall be acceptable when weighed against the evaluated benefits to the patient and/or user.

Recently, the European Council voted 27–0 to adopt an amendment to delay the application of the Medical Devices Regulation by one year. EU MDR, originally scheduled to go into effect on May 26, 2020, will now take effect on May 26, 2021.

2. FDA Breakthrough Device Program Matures

The Breakthrough Device Program is a voluntary program for medical devices that provide the treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or debilitating conditions. The goal of this program is to provide patients and health care providers with timely access to these medical devices by speeding development, assessment, and review.

Devices subject to pre-market approval must meet the following criteria:

• The device provides more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating human disease or conditions
• The device also meets at least one of the following:
• Represent breakthrough technology
• No approved or cleared alternatives exist
• Offers significant advantages over existing approved or cleared alternatives
• Device availability is in the best interest of patients

To request a Breakthrough Device Designation, you can submit a "Designation Request for Breakthrough Device" Q-Submission. Procedures for submitting a Q-Submission are outlined in Requests for Feedback and Meetings for Medical Device Submissions: The Q-Submission Program.

3. Increased Focus on Quality Management

Achieving a quality-driven culture enables your organization to reduce unnecessary quality costs and regulatory risks, which means you can introduce your product to market faster and more efficiently.

Qualio is the first cloud-based eQMS designed to help simplify comprehensive quality management at life sciences organizations involved in the development, production, and distribution of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biotechnology products. This quality management system solution includes all of the tools needed for fast-growing organizations to excel at audits, proactively eliminate defects, and achieve the business benefits of quality-driven growth.

4. Increased Revenues in Medical Device Market

According to one industry publication, the United States remains the largest medical device market in the world at $156 billion (40% percent of the global market). By 2023, the medical device market is expected to grow to $208 billion.

"The industry includes almost 2 million jobs in the United States, including both direct and indirect employment. Medical technology directly accounts for well over 300,000 of these jobs. More than 80% of medical device companies in the United States consist of fewer than 50 employees, and many (notably startup companies) have little or no sales revenue."

When you consider the market potential, many new life sciences organizations are expected to emerge as key industry players.

Qualio Powers Growing Medical Device Companies

A strong enterprise quality management system is a necessity for growing medical device companies. By adopting the right eQMS solution during the startup or scale-up phase, your medical device company can easily adhere to evolving FDA and ISO guidance. Qualio is the first cloud-based QMS specifically designed for life science companies. Features include:

• Tracking and reporting on every change to every document
• Guided workflows to automate quality processes like change control and corrective and preventive action (CAPA)
• Improved collaboration with streamlined in-software communications
• And more...

Take our interactive, 20-question quality self-assessment, and learn how to improve quality management instantly.