HC 163 Regulation of medical implants

Written evidence submitted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MI00)

Summary

1. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the oversight of medical devices regulation in the UK, the framework for which is set by European legislation. The regulatory system for medical devices, of which medical implants are a subset, has operated effectively for the period that it has been in place and the MHRA does not believe that fundamental change is required. However, there are aspects of the system that could be strengthened and the forthcoming revision of the Medical Devices Directives provides an opportunity to address these.

Context – regulation of medical devices

2. Medical implants are regulated in the UK under a broader framework of regulation covering medical devices. Legislation in the UK (in the form of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 [1] ) stems from three main European Directives:

a. Directive 90/385/EEC on active implantable medical devices (AIMDD);

b. Directive 93/42/EEC on medical devices (MDD); and

c. Directive 98/79/EC on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDD) [2] .

3. The Directives have a dual objective: firstly, to provide manufacturers with a single set of regulatory requirements that, once met, provide free and unhindered access to the EU market and secondly, to provide users of medical devices and patients a high level of confidence that devices, when used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, are acceptably safe and perform as claimed.

4. The Directives set out a list of essential requirements which all devices must meet before being placed on the market, as well as imposing various other regulatory requirements upon the manufacturer. The essential requirements concern matters such as the safety and performance of the device and the amount and type of information given to the user of the device by way of the label and instructions for use.

5. Under the MDD, devices are placed into four categories according to risk – classes I, IIa, IIb and III – where class I is the lowest and class III the highest risk. A manufacturer of class I devices can self-certify conformity with the essential requirements, whereas all other devices will require assessment by an independent third-party organisation, known as a Notified Body, of which there are around 80 across Europe [3] . A manufacturer can select any Notified Body across Europe irrespective of location, provided that their field of expertise covers the device being considered.

6. There are various options set out within the Directives which a manufacturer may choose to demonstrate compliance with the essential requirements to a Notified Body, termed conformity assessment. These will involve, broadly, an assessment of the manufacturer’s quality control systems, manufacturing processes, or individual testing of each device type. The aim is to match the level of control of the device – and thus the depth and challenge of the conformity assessment procedure adopted – to the perceived risk associated with the product.

7. Once a device has been demonstrated to meet the essential requirements, a manufacturer places a CE mark on the device and is free to place the device on the market in all EU countries without further controls.

8. The overarching legislative framework for medical devices is part of the EU’s ‘New Legislative Framework’ [4] (formerly known as the ‘New Approach’), which is concerned with facilitating operation of the single market in various areas of product legislation. The principles of CE marking are common across a number of sectors; they are used, for example, in relation to the safety of toys and personal protective equipment, although the standards involved vary substantially from sector to sector.

9. The Directives are implemented and overseen by a competent authority in each EU Member State; in the UK this is the MHRA. Broadly speaking, the role of the competent authority is to implement the provisions of the Directives, to appoint and control Notified Bodies, to assess and authorise clinical investigations of non-CE marked devices and to monitor and investigate adverse events and field safety corrective actions (including recalls) occurring in their country [5] .

10. These general principles are explored in further detail in relation to medical implants in the following section.

Regulation of medical implants

11. Medical implants are regulated under the MDD, which classifies them in the two highest risk categories, classes IIb and III, and the AIMDD, where all devices fall de facto into class III. As set out previously, the risk category that a device is placed in determines how a manufacturer is able to demonstrate conformity with the relevant Directive and the level of scrutiny required by a Notified Body.

12. Examples of class IIb implantable medical devices are bone plates and screws, gastric bands and intraocular lenses; class III implantable medical devices are heart valves, total hip replacements and breast implants; and active implantable medical devices are pacemakers, implantable defibrillators and cochlear implants. Annex A sets out in further detail the relevant definitions from the MDD and AIMDD relating to implantable and active implantable medical devices.

13. When undertaking conformity assessment for class IIb implants a Notified Body typically carries out a detailed assessment of the manufacturing facility to look into design, manufacturing and inspection of the devices concerned. They also cover other general requirements such as staff training and the handling of complaints. They will also sample technical documentation for compliance from the range of products being manufactured. These assessments normally take place annually to ensure ongoing compliance with the requirements of the legislation.

14. For class III implants, as well as the assessments at the facilities as outlined for the class IIb products, there is also a requirement for the Notified Body to review the technical documentation of each product to ensure that it is in compliance with the essential requirements. Dependent upon the product this will cover such areas as safety, performance, biological properties, sterilisation, software and labelling.

15. For medical implants, clinical data is required to demonstrate compliance with the relevant essential requirements. Before placing a medical implant on the market a manufacturer must have undertaken a clinical evaluation. This process involves an analysis of clinical data that can come from a number of sources including clinical experience of the medical device or a similar device, published clinical investigations or other studies of similar devices in the scientific literature, or from the results of a specifically designed clinical investigation of the device. Clinical investigations will typically be required where a medical implant has new design features or uses new materials.

16. Clinical data for implants will typically not include an evaluation of medium- and long-term clinical performance since it is not feasible to run pre-market clinical investigations for the expected lifetime of an implant, nor is it usually possible or appropriate to carry out randomised clinical trials such as is done with pharmaceuticals. A critical aspect of ensuring the safety of implants is therefore a manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that adequate post-market surveillance is in place once an implant has met the relevant requirements for CE marking. For implants, this should include properly structured post-market clinical follow-up (PMCF) studies designed to confirm the medium- and long-term safety and performance of the implant. This applies equally to implants that are the subject of pre-market clinical investigations prior to CE marking and to those that are introduced to the market on the basis of pre-existing clinical data. The results of post-market surveillance programmes should be fed back into the risk assessment and clinical evaluation of a device by a manufacturer and should be assessed by the Notified Body [6] .

17. The role of the MHRA in relation to the regulation of medical implants falls into three main areas – the oversight and designation of Notified Bodies, assessment of clinical investigations and investigation of adverse incidents.

18. Oversight and designation of Notified Bodies – there are currently six Notified Bodies in the UK that are designated to undertake conformity assessment for some or all of the devices covered by the MDD and AIMDD [7] . A key role of the MHRA is to ensure that the Notified Bodies have the appropriate technical competence to be able to cover the product scope for which they have been designated. Routine monitoring of Notified Bodies by the MHRA involves two processes – office audits and witnessed assessments.

19. Office audits generally focus on specific client files, reviewing the complete process from receipt of application, assignment of assessors, reports and issue of certificates. For high-risk devices such as implants, the audit team will include technical and clinical experts to support the assessment. In witnessed assessments the focus is in ensuring that the assessor has the right level of competence and fully addresses all the issues found during their assessment. Any issues in either audit process are highlighted, with the Notified Body required to provide acceptable corrective action plans which are monitored by the MHRA.

20. Assessment of clinical investigations – as set out previously, clinical investigations are generally likely to be required for medical implants. A clinical investigation of a non-CE marked implant must be designed to establish that the performance claimed by the manufacturer can be adequately demonstrated, and that the device is judged to be safe to use on patients taking into account any risks associated with the use of the device when weighed against the expected benefits. The role of the MHRA is to assess the technical and clinical evidence provided by the manufacturer to ensure that there are no public health or public policy reasons whereby the proposed clinical investigation should not proceed. Examples of instances where the MHRA might object include where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a device does not satisfy relevant essential requirements, or where there is inadequate pre-clinical data in order to make it reasonable for clinical testing to commence.

21. Investigation of adverse incidents – the MHRA investigates both mandatory serious adverse event reports from manufacturers and adverse events reported voluntarily by healthcare professionals and members of the public. As a result of these investigations the MHRA will take further action as appropriate, including recalling faulty products and offering advice to the health service, primarily through Medical Device Alerts, but also through safety pamphlets, posters, and bulletins. This illustrates the fact that many of the issues that arise in relation to devices regulation are concerned not simply with the characteristics of the products themselves but the interface between the product and the manner in which they are used. The MHRA therefore has an important role in working with professionals and the public, not only to inform but also to influence their behaviour.

22. Annex B provides an example of how the MHRA has fulfilled this role in the past in relation to a medical implant, and Annex C sets out further information and statistics in relation to the MHRA’s role in medical device vigilance [8] .

Improving the regulation of medical implants

23. This written evidence has, to this point, provided a factual account of the regulation of medical devices, with a particular focus on how this applies to medical implants. Further important context is provided in the number of reports and initiatives that have, are, or will be looking at issues relating to the regulation of medical implants as well as this inquiry; these are as follows:

a. the review of the actions of the MHRA and Department of Health (DH) in relation to Poly Implant Prosthèse (PIP) silicone breast implants, expected to be published in May 2012;

b. the forthcoming review by Sir Bruce Keogh of the regulation of cosmetic surgery, which will include examination of the feasibility of a register of medical implants [9] ;

c. the Health Select Committee report on PIP breast implants and regulation of cosmetic interventions, published on 28 March 2012 [10] ;

d. the proposal from the European Commission on 9 February 2012 for a ‘joint plan of immediate action’ by Member States in response to issues raised by PIP silicone breast implants [11] ; and

e. the forthcoming revision of the Medical Devices Directives [12] .

24. This section goes on to consider how the existing regulatory framework could be strengthened, considering first the general principles and going on to examine particular aspects in relation to medical implants. The revision of the Medical Devices Directives is a focus for many of the potential improvements, although there are some aspects that fall outside of the scope of this exercise.

25. The principles of the European regulatory system – recent events involving PIP silicone breast implants and metal-on-metal hip replacements have exposed a general lack of understanding of how the European regulatory system for medical devices is structured and, perhaps more importantly, why it is structured in this way. In particular, the difference to how pharmaceuticals are regulated is often used as a point of comparison.

26. One of the main differences between the regulatory systems is the differing requirements prior to a device being placed on the market. Medical devices are unlike pharmaceuticals, in that their development is generally based on principles of engineering, rather than of chemistry and pharmacology and, as such, greater reliance can be placed on laboratory tests rather than clinical studies in patients. Furthermore, relatively minor design and manufacturing improvements are frequent, and medical devices tend to evolve over time in a manner similar to other engineering-based products; the development of the pacemaker over the past fifty years, for example, is as a result of dozens of small design improvements made over that time.

27. Equally, it is relatively straightforward to demonstrate the short-term safety and performance of a device which is not intended to be implanted for an extended period of time using a short-term clinical investigation in a relatively small group of patients. The particular challenge for medical implants comes in that, unlike pharmaceuticals and non-implantable medical devices, an implant is intended to have many years of use inside the human body and there are limitations to what can be studied pre-market, for example in animal models. Adverse incidents with implanted devices differ from adverse reactions to drugs in several ways: sporadic manufacturing defects in components, operator-dependent variations in implantation, and long-term failure related to mechanical or chemical processes in the human body. It is not feasible to adequately study the absolute long-term safety and performance of implants in patient groups of sufficient size and diversity prior to their being placed on the market, which is why the ongoing post-market surveillance of implants is a particularly critical aspect of the regulatory system for these devices. It is the joint responsibility of manufacturers, Notified Bodies, clinicians and regulatory authorities to ensure that this happens.

28. In addition, pre-market assessment for pharmaceuticals is undertaken by the MHRA, whereas for medical devices this role is fulfilled by Notified Bodies. Aside from the responsibility for designation and audit of Notified Bodies in the UK, the MHRA’s only other responsibility in pre-market assessment of devices is in assessing clinical investigations submitted by manufacturers.

29. The question is posed why this crucial role for assessing the safety of devices is delegated to Notified Bodies and not undertaken by publicly employed experts. The rationale for employing such a system is largely down to the size and breadth of the market for medical devices – a typical estimate is that there are in excess of 400,000 different medical devices on the market in the EU [13] . The medical devices sector is constantly innovating, and new technologies appear at far greater rates than they do in pharmaceuticals. Individual Notified Bodies are able to specialise in certain areas and react to market demand, adding expertise and capacity where required in a way that would not be possible for public sector bodies. The result is a system that is efficient and able to rapidly undertake pre-market assessment; the EU is widely recognised as being an innovation-friendly environment largely due to this regulatory structure, and the Notified Body model of third-party involvement is increasingly being adopted in various forms by regulatory authorities outside Europe.

   

30. Taking the above considerations into account, the Government’s departure point for considering how the regulatory framework for implants can be improved is concerned with strengthening the current system, rather than advocating fundamental change where there is no evidence that this would improve patient safety, and so delay the availability of novel treatments to patients.

31. Notified Bodies – Notified Bodies play a critical role in the regulatory system for ensuring the safety of medical devices; this is heightened by the fact that the EU operates a system of mutual recognition, and so a CE mark awarded in any Notified Body in any EU country allows free movement of that device across the EU.

32. There is general concern about the variability in performance of Notified Bodies and as such one of the MHRA’s priorities for the revision of the Medical Devices Directives has been to strengthen the criteria for designation of Notified Bodies, and to ensure a consistent application of these criteria and monitoring of performance of Notified Bodies across the EU.

33. The MHRA has advocated the involvement of experts from more than one Member State to be involved in the designation and audit process, and for this process to have oversight by a central EU committee comprised of experts from Member States. The aim of these changes would be to drive a consistently high level of oversight of Notified Bodies, ensuring that they are designated on the basis of proven competence for the devices that they will be assessing. This is of particular importance for higher risk devices such as medical implants where significantly greater specialist technical and clinical input is required to adequately assess the safety and performance of the device.

34. In advance of the revision exercise, the MHRA has been involved in a programme of peer review of Notified Bodies, which has been a voluntary programme amongst some Member States to attempt to drive greater consistency in the designation and audit process. The MHRA was also heavily involved in drafting best practice guidance for designating authorities, which is increasingly used by Member States and provides a solid base for the actions needed to improve this area [14] .

35. Addressing the performance of Notified Bodies has also been an area highlighted for action in the Commission’s ‘joint plan for immediate action’ – which is a recognition that there is a need for this area to be addressed in advance of the revision exercise, where changes are unlikely to take effect for a number of years. In particular, this focuses on designation and audit of Notified Bodies by designating authorities, but also highlights the requirements of Notified Bodies when they audit manufacturers, with a particular focus on ensuring that Notified Bodies undertake unannounced inspections of manufacturers. The MHRA supports the measures outlined in this plan and has been working with the Commission and UK Notified Bodies to address practical implementation of the areas highlighted.

36. Clinical evaluation – as outlined previously, clinical evaluation of a device is required when demonstrating conformity with relevant essential requirements to verify the clinical safety and performance of a device. For medical implants, this process is particularly important, as the technical and biological characteristics of a device when implanted in the body need to be understood and documented.

37. An area that we have identified for improvement is that the Medical Devices Directives are permissive when setting out when manufacturers need to undertake clinical investigations, or to what extent they are able to rely on existing scientific literature and claiming equivalence with an existing device. The MHRA was key to making changes in the last revision of the Directives such that implantable devices covered by the MDD and devices covered by the AIMDD now require specific justification for not undertaking a clinical investigation, but it is still the case that a large number of implants placed on the market do not have any new clinical investigations undertaken. Furthermore, manufacturers should also be gathering clinical data on devices in use not only to ensure the safety of those devices but also to inform the development and clinical evaluation of future devices.

38. As Notified Bodies are responsible for assessing clinical evaluation by manufacturers as part of conformity assessment, ensuring that appropriate clinical investigations have taken place falls to them. We consider that many of the areas for improvement outlined in relation to the oversight and designation of Notified Bodies in the revision of the Medical Devices Directives will result in greater scrutiny in this area – in particular ensuring that appropriate clinical expertise is in place to be able to assess clinical evaluations – but we also consider that reducing the extent to which manufacturers are able to rely on equivalence to be critical. This can be addressed through both further strengthening the legislation and ensuring that Notified Bodies place appropriate scrutiny on the use of equivalence.

39. Additional scrutiny on high-risk devices – a key question that is being posed as part of the exercise to revise the Medical Devices Directives is whether additional pre-market scrutiny by public authorities is required in some cases in addition to that undertaken by Notified Bodies. This concept was first raised in the 2008 consultation paper issued by the Commission, which proposed a role for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in the assessment of the highest risk devices. Whilst the idea for using the EMA has since been disregarded, it seems likely that the Commission will include a proposal for some sort of central EU scrutiny of new class III devices in addition to assessment by a Notified Body before they are placed on the market.

40. Whilst this idea does, at face value, appear to have some merit in providing additional assurance for the highest risk devices, we have concerns about such a proposal. The principal concern relates to the resourcing implications of duplicating the work of Notified Bodies – there is a considerable amount of work undertaken by specialist staff in Notified Bodies in conformity assessment of class III devices and it is unclear to what extent a central EU resource will be able to scrutinise this in any meaningful way, without requiring a substantial investment in staff. The expertise required is compounded by the breadth and complexity of class III devices; an estimate is in excess of a thousand new class III devices are placed on the market in the EU every year [15] . An additional concern we have is that introducing this additional step could serve to muddy the water in relation to where responsibility lies for pre-market scrutiny, and risks reducing the onus on a Notified Body to undertake their activities properly.

41. The MHRA’s view is that addressing concerns with clinical evaluation and Notified Bodies – particularly ensuring that those Notified Bodies designated to assess the highest risk devices are competent to do so – should drive improvements in assessing the highest risk devices, without introducing a system that will drive up costs and delays with questionable benefits.

42. Post-market surveillance – the Medical Devices Directives require manufacturers to undertake post-market surveillance but in rather general and imprecise terms and, as such, it is undertaken with variable rigour. We have therefore identified this as a key area that needs to be addressed in the revision of the Directives, and expect that there will be provisions included that more clearly set out the responsibility of manufacturers to put in place adequate and proportionate systems to systematically collect information on the performance of their devices in the post-production phase. We would also expect Notified Bodies to be required to assess the appropriateness of a manufacturer’s post-market surveillance system as part of their assessment.

43. The MHRA has also been pressing for the concept of post-market clinical follow-up (PMCF) studies to feature in the revised Directives. PMCF studies complement clinical evaluation prior to being placed on the market by continuing the assessment of a device once it has been CE marked, allowing further clinical data to be gathered once a device is in more widespread use. PMCF is one aspect of post-market surveillance, but is particularly relevant for medical implants since a long-term assessment of the ongoing safety and performance of a device is critical.

44. Traceability – one key aspect of improving post-market surveillance of medical implants is in improving their traceability – accurately recording an exact code that identifies the implant a patient has within an existing dataset and then using this information to link with all relevant outcomes. The aim of this is to move post-market surveillance of medical implants from relying largely on adverse incident reporting to a more sophisticated proactive analysis of the ongoing performance of an implant over its lifetime.

45. The benefits of using outcomes to analyse the performance of devices have been demonstrated recently by the central role that the National Joint Registry of England and Wales (NJR) played in identifying problems with metal-on-metal hip replacements in 2010 – analysis of information from the NJR on the revision rates of the DePuy ASR system led to a worldwide voluntary recall of the device, and has subsequently brought about rapid changes in clinical practice in the UK [16] .

46. Sir Bruce Keogh’s forthcoming review will examine the feasibility of a wider register for medical implants; such a register would have the aim of gaining the benefits seen by the orthopaedic community from the NJR across a much broader range of medical implants. In the context of this review, the MHRA is currently examining how the current use of barcoding in the NHS [17] and likely proposals in the revision of the Medical Devices Directives to mandate a system of Unique Device Identification (UDI) across the EU could be used to facilitate better traceability of devices and linkage with outcomes. Such an approach would support manufacturers’ responsibilities to undertake appropriate PMCF studies in a co-ordinated and cost-effective manner.

47. We expect the Commission to include proposals for a system of UDI to be included in the revision, although it seems very likely the precise details of any EU system would be specified in delegated or implementing acts, rather than on the face of the revised legislation. The Commission recognise that different Member States are currently addressing the issue of UDI and traceability individually, and so plan to issue a Recommendation before the end of 2012 that will set out the principles that a UDI system should follow. At the same time, the International Medical Device Regulators’ Forum (IMDRF), a collaboration between international regulators that is replacing the Global Harmonisation Task Force (GHTF), are also addressing this issue to support a consistent approach globally [18] .

48. A further initiative that the MHRA intends to explore is the feasibility of including in the revised legislation the requirement for all implantable devices to include with them an implant card that would be given to a patient following a procedure. Such a card would include basic details about the patient and implant, including implant date, name of implant and batch/lot/serial number. It has become clear following media attention on breast implants and metal-on-metal hip replacements that most patients do not know what sort of implant they have had, and an implant card would help to support post-market surveillance, as well as providing patients with valuable information about their implant.

     

49. Co-ordination and co-operation – one of the key benefits from being regulated under a single EU framework is that manufacturers of medical devices do not have to undertake a large number of costly, time consuming assessment processes in every country in which they wish to market their device. However, there is currently no way to systematically use the breadth of information available to individual Notified Bodies and competent authorities across the EU to inform regulatory actions. Improving co-ordination, both within the EU and globally is an aspect of the Commission’s ‘joint plan for immediate action’ and will also feature in the revision of the Medical Devices Directives.

50. The MHRA has been encouraging the Commission to address this weakness in a number of ways. One aspect is to require registration of all devices placed on the EU market, and the economic operators [19] that do so, on a central EU portal; this is currently the responsibility of individual Member States. A further, critical aspect is in the development on an effective and efficient electronic communication and information support tool to support co-ordinated post-market surveillance across the EU. Such a system would allow:

a. centralised post-market surveillance and vigilance reporting by manufacturers, with automated notifications to relevant Competent Authorities;

b. access to a comprehensive EU database of post-market surveillance plans, incidents and field safety corrective actions (FSCAs); and

c. support for co-ordination of competent authority communications and actions.

51. We are expecting proposals from the Commission to address the areas outlined above; this will very clearly support better co-operation and communication between Member States, but also has the added benefit of simplifying and streamlining reporting structures for manufacturers of devices. We are also anticipating proposals that will address the wider need to improve co-ordination and oversight of the regulatory system – covering areas such the central scrutiny process for designation and audit of Notified Bodies and ensuring swifter determination of issues relating to the borderline between legislation for medical devices and other, related, areas such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and biocides.

52. Transparency – the revision of the Medical Devices Directives provides an opportunity for a substantial change in the availability of information about medical devices and the regulatory system. Currently, very little information is available about a medical device throughout its lifetime – clinical evaluations, conformity assessment, adverse incidents and post-market surveillance plans, for example, are generally not published. Such opaqueness undoubtedly contributes to a degree of unease about the regulatory system, and a lack of feedback to those submitting information to the MHRA through the voluntary reporting system does not help encourage its use amongst clinicians. A key aim for the UK in the revision is therefore to drive far greater publication of information in a format that is useful for the public, as well as regulators and manufacturers; this is currently generally prohibited by explicit confidentiality requirements within the MDD and AIMDD that we wish to see removed [20] .

Conclusion – supporting innovation through regulation

53. One of the widely recognised benefits that the regulatory system in the EU brings is rapid access to the market for new and innovative devices. Studies have suggested that new devices come to market in the EU typically between one and two years sooner than the US, without any evidence that this comes at a higher risk to patients and the public [21] . One of the underlying objectives for the MHRA in the revision of Medical Devices Directives is to continue to strike this appropriate balance between supporting innovation and providing adequate safeguards to patients. Recent events involving PIP silicone breast implants and metal-on-metal hip replacements will make this objective more challenging, as we see the immediate reaction to problems being identified of assuming regulatory failure and calling for increased regulatory scrutiny – essentially moving from a system that balances risks against benefits to one which takes a more precautionary approach.

54. A common response to events involving PIP silicone breast implants has been to identify the US system as an improved model that the EU should be following [22] , owing largely to the fact that pre-market assessment is undertaken by a governmental body. It is difficult to speculate whether the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) would have picked up problems with PIP silicone breast implants since PIP did not place them on the market in the US, but no regulatory system is set up to anticipate deliberate fraud. A more relevant comparison would be to consider metal-on-metal replacements – the DePuy ASR hip was placed on the market in both the US and the EU, having satisfied the pre-market requirements of both regulatory frameworks and yet, as outlined previously, problems with the implant were first identified in the UK.

55. Issues with PIP silicone breast implants and metal-on-metal hips stem from very different root causes – the first from deliberate subversion of the regulatory system and the second from unanticipated wear over a long time-period. However, this illustrates that picking isolated examples and attributing them to regulatory failure should not be the basis on which to advocate widespread changes to a system. Nonetheless, any regulatory framework has room for improvement and it is important for lessons to be learned from all instances where devices cause harm to patients. Equally, the regulatory system for medical devices does need to evolve to reflect the increasing complexity of devices. These include new and emerging technologies that involve novel materials and increasingly incorporate and interact with pharmaceuticals and information technologies.

56. The areas outlined in this evidence – which generally result from considered analysis of the current system over the course of a number of years – will bring about significant improvement to the devices regulatory system in the EU, whilst, at the same time, ensuring that the benefits that the EU system currently offers, by way of proportionate, efficient and effective regulation, are not lost.

April 2012
Annex A – definitions relating to medical implants

A1. In order to explain fully how medical implants are regulated, it is helpful to consider the definitions relating to medical implants.

A2. The definition of a medical device in the MDD is:

‘medical device’ means any instrument, apparatus, appliance, software, material or other article, whether used alone or in combination, including the software intended by its manufacturer to be used specifically for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes and necessary for its proper application, intended by the manufacturer to be used for human beings for the purpose of:

- diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of disease,

- diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, alleviation of or compensation for an injury or handicap,

- investigation, replacement or modification of the anatomy or of a physiological process,

- control of conception,

and which does not achieve its principal intended action in or on the human body by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means, but which may be assisted in its function by such means;

A3. The definition of an implantable device within the MDD is:

Any device which is intended:

- to be totally introduced into the human body or,

- to replace an epithelial surface or the surface of the eye,

by surgical intervention which is intended to remain in place after the procedure.

Any device intended to be partially introduced into the human body through surgical intervention and intended to remain in place after the procedure for at least 30 days is also considered an implantable device.

A4. The definition of an active and active implantable device within the AIMDD is:

‘active medical device’ means any medical device relying for its functioning on a source of electrical energy or any source of power other than that directly generated by the human body or gravity;

‘active implantable medical device’ means any active medical device which is intended to be totally or partially introduced, surgically or medically, into the human body or by medical intervention into a natural orifice, and which is intended to remain after the procedure;

A5. The classification rules within the MDD relevant for implantable devices are contained within Rule 8 of the classification criteria:

   

All implantable devices and long-term surgically invasive devices are in Class IIb unless they are intended:

- to be placed in the teeth, in which case they are in Class IIa,

- to be used in direct contact with the heart, the central circulatory system or the central nervous system, in which case they are in Class III,

- to have a biological effect or to be wholly or mainly absorbed, in which case they are in Class III,

- or to undergo chemical change in the body, except if the devices are laced in the teeth, or to administer medicines, in which case they are in Class III.

Annex B – case study of the MHRA’s role in investigating adverse incidents

B1. The MHRA was contacted by a surgeon at an Oxford hospital who was concerned about the rate of failure of a particular Labcor Heart Valve. A team was immediately sent up to the hospital which included clinical input, the technical expert in heart valves and experts in sterilisation and toxicology. An investigation was launched to understand the cause of the problems; this involved interviewing relevant clinical staff, assessing practices in theatre, liaising with the manufacturer to find out whether there had been some change in the manufacturing process, in the sterilisation process or in the fluid used to contain valve for transport, and contacting the FDA which had carried out a recent site visit.

B2. As a result of this extensive investigation, it became apparent that the Labcor Heart Valves require a longer washing period prior to insertion into the patient. This was not being adequately carried out by the theatre staff because they were used to the shorter washing periods for other heart valves. This action halted the further unexpected failure at the hospital; at the same time the MHRA also issued a generic Medical Device Alert bringing this issue to the attention of all cardiothoracic surgeons and cardiothoracic theatre staff.

Annex C – the MHRA’s medical device vigilance system

Adverse incident investigations

C1. The MHRA operates a medical device vigilance system in the UK which encourages and provides guidance on adverse incident reporting by:

· manufacturers and their various economic operators in compliance with the Medical Devices Directives and EU vigilance guidance;

· healthcare professionals; and

· members of the public, including medical device users and carers.

C2. The MHRA’s system meets all EU requirements and guidance including the need to centrally record and evaluate all information received, to inform manufacturers of all incidents received from healthcare professionals and to warn other Member States of any corrective action or enforcement measures being taken to address serious safety concerns.

C3. The numbers of adverse incident reports received by the MHRA has increased substantially over the past five years:

Year	Adverse Incident reports received
2007	8,634
2008	8,910
2009	9,096
2010	10,282
2011	10,967 (a 27% increase since 2007)

C4. In addition, data from the first quarter of 2012 show a dramatic increase in reporting – a 38% increase over the first quarter of 2011.

C5. In order to handle this increasing number of incident reports effectively, two new processes were introduced during 2011. The introduction of a triage process in April 2011 has ensured that medical device specialists are able to focus their efforts on the most serious adverse events that require their immediate attention and intervention, whereas more routine problems are investigated by device manufacturers in accordance with their post-market surveillance obligations. The reports submitted by manufacturers following their investigations are reviewed by medical device specialists and further action is taken as necessary before transferring the adverse incident report to a trending and surveillance database.

C6. At the same time as the introduction of the triage process, a systematic trending system was established. This trending analysis reviews adverse incident numbers by device type and manufacturer on an ongoing periodic basis. The effective use of trending enables signals relating to incipient problems to be picked up earlier and more consistently. Further work to develop these trending systems is planned.

C7. Outcomes of adverse investigations can include:

· a Field Safety Corrective Action (FSCA) such as product recall, design change, software upgrades, amended instructions for use, including patient management for implants;

· quality assurance improvements;

· device repair;

· additional post-market studies;

· further monitoring and trending;

· local training of users or improvements in device storage; and

· supplementary safety advice from MHRA including One-Liners, Device Bulletins (see below), posters and pamphlets.

Medical Device Alerts and the Central Alerting System

C8. Medical Device Alerts are the MHRA’s primary means of providing important safety advice. They can be issued for a variety of reasons:

· to provide an MHRA view or endorsement;

· to inform a wider user-base;

· to clarify and/or supplement information provided by a manufacturer;

· to speed up user response to manufacturers Field Safety Notices; and

· to provide advice on generic safety issues.

C9. In line with the increasing number of adverse incident reports received there has been a corresponding increase in the number of Medical Device Alerts issued. The figures for the past five years are shown in the table below:

Year	Medical Device Alerts issued
2007	100
2008	88
2009	85
2010	98
2011	113

C10. Medical Device Alerts are distributed via the Central Alerting System (CAS), a function that was transferred from the central Department of Health to the MHRA in January 2012. CAS distributes safety warnings to all hospital trusts and Primary Care Trusts in England. A monitoring system provides feedback on the receipt, analysis of the need for action and completion of the required action by the addressees.

C11. An analysis of this feedback data is conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the important messages contained within Medical Device Alerts are being received and acted upon by the recipients.

C12. In addition to the publication of Medical Device Alerts, the MHRA also publishes monthly editions of One-Liners and Device Bulletins to address specific topics of relevance to healthcare professionals.

Liaison with healthcare professionals

C13. The MHRA maintains regular dialogue with a range of external stakeholders: professional bodies, trade associations, patient user groups and external clinical experts through its expert advisory group and the Committee on the Safety of Devices (CSD).

C14. In the past year the MHRA has made extensive use of these liaisons to cover major issues related to PIP breast implants, metal-on-metal hip implants, and vaginal tapes for stress urinary incontinence. In addition, consultations have occurred on a wide range of clinical issues and input has aided the assessment of clinical investigations.