National Registration for medical devices

Placing your medical device into the European market is contingent upon your compliance with the Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. While this Directive is a law to all 27 Member States within the European Union, each Member State has its own way of implementing the Directive within their country, essentially adding regulations to the Directive and creating Local Legislation.

An example of such local implementation of the Directive is present in Bulgaria. All non-EU manufacturers of medical devices and IVDs are required to have an EU legal representative to register their device with the Bulgarian Drug Agency (BDA). Non-Bulgarian manufacturers that are based in the EU are also required to complete this registration themselves, or appoint a legally-mandated representative to perform a registration for them.

Registration Process

In accordance with the Law on Medical Devices, adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament during its session on June 12, 2007, and as promulgated in the Bulgarian State Gazette No. 46, some categories of medical devices must be registered with the Bulgarian Drug Agency (BDA). This registration is mandatory for medical devices that enter the EU internal market through, or if they are being manufactured in, the territory of Bulgaria. The categories of medical devices that are affected by this obligatory registration are:

• Class I Medical Devices;
• Class Is and Class Im Medical Devices;
• Custom-made Medical Devices;
• Systems and procedure packs;
• Systems and procedure packs subjected to sterilization before use;
• Medical Devices subjected to sterilization before use;
• In-Vitro Diagnostic Devices

The manufacturers of Medical Devices that are classes IIa IIb and III, and established outside Bulgaria, are exempted from this requirement. Obelis, as a professional European Authorised Representative, can perform the registration procedure on behalf of Non-EU manufacturers. Third party commercial entities, like distributors, should not register your medical devices for several reasons, a few of which are:

1. By allowing a third party commercial entity to register in your behalf, the manufacturer relinquishes an essential part of his control over his medical device in Bulgaria;
2. If you decided to end the relationship with your commercial distributor at any point, you would be required to take your medical device completely off the market until you could re-register that medical device within Bulgaria for a second (third, fourth, etc.) time;
3. Your third party commercial entity will expect exclusivity, limiting the open distribution of your medical device.

Conclusion

1. For the benefit of non-EU manufacturer, the distributor SHOULD NOT have part in any regulatory affairs;
2. The manufacturer should register their medical devices with the Bulgarian database through his appointed Authorised Representative.

Local Legislations, such as this one, are common in Europe (Italy, Portugal, France, Greece, Latvia and Croatia) and strengthen the need for a professional European Authorized Representative present at any time.

On 26 May 2021, Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 will repeal Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. Until EUDAMED database allowing registration at EU level is functional, current- Directive registration process will continue. Nevertheless, Member States might continue requesting a separate registration to their national database.

Food supplements may be subject to the requirements of the national registration as a pre-market authorisation. For more information, contact us today.

Some categories of medical devices are mandatory to be registered with the French Agency for the Sanitary Security of Health Product (AFSSAPS), at the time of being put into service within the French territory as per the Decree n° 2002-1221 September 30, 2002 and Decree n°2010-270 March 15, 2010. Categories of medical devices concerned by this obligatory communication are:

• Class IIa medical devices
• Class IIb medical devices
• Class III medical devices

Registration Process

The registration process consists of following 5 steps:

1. Designation of an E.A.R.
2. Provide E.A.R. with relevant documentation (to be provided upon request)
3. E.A.R reviews your documentation
4. E.AR communicates the information to AFSSAPS
5. E.A.R provides you with an acknowledgement of delivery

Additional information

Medical devices having same intended use (same commercial name, the same EC declaration of conformity and the instruction for use) are subject to only one communication. The communication must be made at the time of the putting the medical device into service (article 1 of the MDD 93/42/EEC) onto the French territory.

Please bear in mind, that if the communication is not submitted at the time the device is put into service, article R.5461-1of the code of public health lays down penalties incurred by the contravener. Third party commercial entities, like distributors, should not register devices for several reasons, a few of which are:

1. By allowing a third party commercial entity to register in your behalf, the manufacturer relinquishes an essential part of his control over his product in the European Market (such as in France);
2. If decided to end the relationship with a commercial distributor at any point, it will be required to take the device completely off the market until a re-registration is completed for a second (third, fourth, etc.) time;
3. Third party commercial entity will expect exclusivity, limiting the open distribution of devices.

Conclusion

1. For the benefit of non-EU manufacturer, the distributor SHOULD NOT have part in any regulatory affairs;
2. The manufacturer should register their products with the French Authorities through his appointed Authorised Representative.

Local Legislations, such as this one, are common in Europe (Italy, Portugal, France and Germany) and strengthen the need for a professional European Authorised Representative present at all times.

On 26 May 2021, Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 will repeal Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. Until EUDAMED database allowing registration at EU level is functional, current- Directive registration process will continue. Nevertheless, Member States might continue requesting a separate registration to their national database.

Food supplements may be subject to the requirements of the national registration as a pre-market authorisation. For more information, contact us today.

Placing your medical device into the European market is contingent upon your compliance with the Medical Device Directive (93/42/EEC). While this Directive is a law to all 27 member states within the European Union, each member state has its own way of implementing the Directive within their country, essentially adding regulations to the Directive and creating Local Legislation.

An example of such local implementation of the Directive is now present in Italy which requires, in addition to the CE marking (as opposed to the essence of the CE marking which is “Free Circulation of Goods”), that ALL Medical Devices to be placed in the Italian market will go through a Device registration process. This process is similar to the pre-market notification requirement for Class I Medical Devices (as stated in the European Directive MDD 93/42/EEC Article 14) only in Italy it is applicable for all classes, not only Class I.

Medical devices introduced to Italian market must obtain the sanitary certificate and be registered. In order to apply for the Sanitary Certificate for your medical devices, Legal Representative must submit a request for health authorization to import. The documentation accompanying the goods must be attached to the online request – except when the current legislation on the matter provides for the delivery of original documentation.

Furthermore, all non-EU manufacturers of medical devices are required to have an EU legal representative to register their medical device with the Italian database. Non-Italian manufacturers that are based in the EU are also required to complete this registration themselves or appoint a legally-mandated representative to perform a registration for them.

As your EU representative, Obelis will register your devices with the Italian Ministry of Health on your behalf. The registration can only be done with granted access to the Italian Database, and with the required “smart card” for the actual registration. Your legal representative needs to have access to both.

Registration Process

As a non-EU manufacturer of medical devices, you are required to use a European (legal) representative to register your medical device with the Italian database. Non-Italian (European) manufacturers are also required to complete this registration themselves or appoint a legally-mandated representative to register for them.

This representative will communicate with the Italian Ministry of Health on your behalf. The registration can only be done with granted access to the Italian Database, and with the required “smart card” for the actual registration. Your legal representative needs to have access to both. Third party commercial entities, like distributors, should not register your medical devices for several reasons, a few of which are:

1. By allowing a third party commercial entity to register in your behalf, the manufacturer relinquishes an essential part of his control over his medical device in Italy
2. If you decided to end the relationship with your commercial distributor at any point, you would be required to take your medical device completely off the market until you could re-register that medical device within Italy for a second (third, fourth, etc.) time
3. Your third party commercial entity will expect exclusivity, limiting the open distribution of your medical device.

Conclusion

1. For the benefit of non-EU manufacturer, the distributor SHOULD NOT have part in any regulatory affairs
2. The manufacturer should register their medical devices with the Italian database through his appointed Authorized Representative

Local Legislations like the example of Italy are common in Europe (such as in Portugal) and strengthen the need for a professional European Authorized Representative present at all times.

On 26 May 2021, Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 will repeal Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. Until EUDAMED database allowing registration at EU level is functional, current- Directive registration process will continue. Nevertheless, Member States might continue requesting a separate registration to their national database.

If you are directly importing cosmetics product to Italian ports, be aware that your Legal Representative must submit a request for health authorization to import called Nulla Osta Sanitario (NOS), also known as the Sanitary Certificate. The procedure consist of an online request on the Electronical Italian Ministry of Health database, and includes several data like information on Manufacturers, Importers, Goods, documents and the provision of TAX.

Food supplements may be subject to the requirements of the national registration as a pre-market authorisation. For more information, contact us today.

Upper class medical devices and certain IVDs must be registered online with the national regulatory authority, INFARMED – as per Decree-Law No. 145/2009 published on 17 June, 2009. For non-EU manufacturers, the requirements under the Portuguese regulation must be completed by the EU legal representative/European Authorized Representative (E.A.R.)

Registration Process

1. Designation of a EU Authorised Representative
2. Provide E.A.R. with relevant documentation (to be provided upon request)
3. Documentation review
4. Registration with INFARMED

Additional Information

Group Management (a new function in the database) allows select medical devices to be grouped independent of the date the medical devices were registered. Groups are never “closed” which allows for the addition or elimination of devices. Different presentations of medical devices, for example different quantities or sizes, are considered only one medical device as there is no difference in their compounds or end usage. It is ill-advised for third party commercial entities (distributors) to register a manufacturer’s products for a number of reasons:

• The manufacturer relinquishes an essential part of his control over his product in Portugal by registering his devices through his distributor.
• If a manufacturer ever decides to end their relationship with their commercial distributor, he would be required to remove the product completely from the market until it is re-registered.
• A third party commercial entity will expect exclusivity, limiting the open distribution of the product.

Conclusion

Local Legislations, such as this one, are common in Europe (Italy, Portugal, France, Greece, Latvia, Bulgaria and Croatia).

On 26 May 2021, Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 will repeal Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. Until EUDAMED database allowing registration at EU level  is functional, current- Directive registration process will continue. Nevertheless, Member States might continue requesting a separate registration to their national database.

Food supplements may be subject to the requirements of the national registration as a pre-market authorisation. For more information, contact us today.

All non-EU manufacturers of medical devices and IVDs are required to have an EU legal representative to register their upper class medical device with Slovak State Institute for Drug Control (ŠÚKL) – based on the  Act No.362/2011 Coll., § 110 sect. 4. Non-Slovakian manufacturers that are based in the EU are also required to complete this registration themselves or appoint a legally-mandated representative to perform a registration for them.

Registration Process

Notification of medical devices in Slovakia only requires a small payment for the creation of the Registration Code. There are a few requirements for successful and efficient notification:

• correctly 2x filled in Notification form in Slovak language;
• letter of attorney to act on behalf of the manufacturer;
• EC Declaration of Conformity issued by manufacturer (can be in English);
• copy of valid certificate issued according to the conformity assessment procedures (can be in English);
• instructions for use (IFU) in Slovak language both for public and for professionals, SW interface can be in English language, but displayed text must be clarified in Slovak language (e.g.in IFU);
• label of medical device in Slovak language, symbols are acceptable (EN 980, EN ISO 15223-1);
• technical documentation – in the case of borderline product, or in the case of doubts, that the product meets the definition of medical device.

The validity of notification of class IIa, IIb and III medical devices depends on the validity of CE-certificate. Language requirements can be found in MD Regulation No.582/2008 Coll., § 3 sect.2.

Once all the documentation is submitted, ŠÚKL will generate the codes, which are needed for further communication with the Slovak health insurance companies, pharmacies, supply points for medical devices and the Ministry of Health of Slovakia.

Additional Information

Third party commercial entities, like distributors, should not register your medical devices for several reasons, a few of which are:

1. By allowing a third party commercial entity to register in your behalf, the manufacturer relinquishes an essential part of his control over his medical device in Slovakia.
2. If you decided to end the relationship with your commercial distributor at any point, you would be required to take your medical device completely off the market until you could re-register that medical device within Slovakia for a second (third, fourth, etc.) time.
3. Your third party commercial entity will expect exclusivity, limiting the open distribution of your medical device.

Conclusion

1. For the benefit of non-EU manufacturer, the distributor SHOULD NOT have part in any regulatory affairs.
2. The manufacturer should register their medical devices with the Slovakian database through his appointed Authorized Representative.

Local Legislations, such as this one, are common in Europe (Italy, Portugal, France, Greece, Latvia, Bulgaria and Croatia) and strengthen the need for a professional European Authorized Representative present at any time.

On 26 May 2021, Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 will repeal Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. Until EUDAMED database allowing registration at EU level is functional, current- Directive registration process will continue. Nevertheless, Member States might continue requesting a separate registration to their national database.

Food supplements may be subject to the requirements of the national registration as a pre-market authorisation. For more information, contact us today.