Europe – Council votes unanimously to extend MDR deadlines

The European Council (EC) has approved a measure to extend the transition period for medical devices under the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and to remove the sell-off provisions for existing products as required under MDR and the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (IVDR).

On 7 March, the Council voted 27-0 to adopt the measure put forward by the European Parliament and Commission. The parliament voted 537-3 on 16 February to push back the MDR transition period to avoid potentially forcing tens of thousands of products off the market in the economic region. (RELATED: European Parliament votes to extend MDR transition periodRegulatory Focus, 16 February 2023)

“Today we have agreed on measures that will allow the industry to continue bringing essential medical devices to the market and ensure that patients have safe access to medical devices,” Acko Ankarberg Johansson, Swedish minister for health care, said in a press release