The UK government has announced that the implementation of the future UK Medical Device Regulations will be pushed back from 1 July 2023 to 1 July 2024. The MHRA’s announcement means that CE-marked products will continue to be accepted in Great Britain and manufacturers will only be required to obtain a UK Conformity Assessed mark from July 2024. As a result, this extension will provide manufacturers an extra year to ensure that their products are compliant with the new UK regime.

The UK government has recently published its roadmap for regulating AI as a medical device (AIaMD) and software as a medical device (SaMD). This will form part of the basis of the upcoming UK Medical Device Regulation reforms in 2024. In light of the operational difficulties faced by the NHS, AIaMD and SaMD are attractive solutions to alleviate pressures on the UK health system. Yet these products are complex and require a high level of regulatory scrutiny to ensure effectiveness and protect the safety of patients.

EFPIA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations and IFPMA, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, published at the end of September 2022 a long-awaited Note for Guidance to assist their member companies with their use of social media and digital channels. The Guidance aims to set out the areas that companies should consider when communicating on social media and other digital channels, and builds on existing guidance, including the Principles for the use of digital channels in the EFPIA Code.