Medical devices now part of European Commission Public Health website
In July 2011a new section on medical devices has been added to the Public Health website of the European Commission.
The medical devices section offers a vast amount of content on topics such as the regulatory framework, competitiveness, areas of development, and other policies. Furthermore, the website features news and updates on the latest EU developments in this sector.
Japan takes over Global Harmonization Task Force Chairmanship for the next 18 months
Since 1 July 2011 Japan is the new Chair of the Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF). The GHTF was conceived in 1992 in an effort to achieve convergence between national medical device regulatory systems with the aim of enhancing patient safety, promoting innovation, and increasing access to safe, effective and high quality beneficial medical technologies around the world. The Chairmanship is rotated among the five Founding Members of the GHTF (Europe, US, Canada, Australia and Japan). Europe is planned to take over from Japan in January 2013 for a period of three years.