ILN Today

On November 26, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced the process for clearing most medical devices for marketing is being updated to incorporate changes the FDA laid out in an April draft guidance. For over forty years, most medical devices have entered the United States market through the 510(k) clearance process. The 510(k) process offers an expedited approval process available only for products that are substantially equivalent to products already on the market (known as predicate devices). The FDA is considering no longer allowing sponsors to rely on predicates older than ten years and making public information about cleared devices that relied on predicates more than ten years old. In addition, the FDA intends to finalize guidance establishing an alternative 510(k) pathway with different criteria that reflect current technological principles.

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