NSF Hosts 11th Symposium on Medical Technology in Hamburg

The MedTech world has changed significantly. Global supply chains have been disrupted, travel restrictions have been put in place and social interactions have shifted into the digital space; economic downturns required new ways of thinking, and new technologies have emerged. During the pandemic years, resilient health care systems have become much more appreciated, and regulators have become more agile around the world. Over the last decade, medical devices have been regulated with more clinical focus, in addition to generic regulations (on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, environmental protection, etc.).

Coming out of a five-plus-year overhaul of the EU regulatory landscape for medical devices and IVDs, the outlook beyond 2022 becomes more global again. With lessons learned from a worldwide pandemic, the economic survival of MedTech will depend on new drivers:

1. Advanced technologies have become an integral part of the design and manufacturing of the next generation of “intelligent” medical devices and IVDs.
2. Sustainability/ESG will become a more and more significant differentiator. The dual prevention for both human and planetary health is a double opportunity.
3. Global compliance is a prerequisite for market access and needs agile processes to master constantly changing global regulations.

NSF, together with Life Sciences Nord (LSN), hosted its annual medical technology symposium in Hamburg, Germany, on September 15-16. The symposium highlighted why advanced technologies and sustainability expectations will reshape the economic landscape for the MedTech industries and how an adaptive approach to global compliance makes a significant difference.

The event brought together more than 65 leading medical device experts from around the world to discuss new drivers for MedTech survival in a market emerging from EU regulatory overhauls and a global pandemic. It featured speakers from BVMed, Eppendorf Group, Olympus, Medtronic, Siemens Healthineers, Microsoft, BSI and other organizations.

Over two days, experts examined how manufacturers can build resilience in the next generation of medical devices. Featured speakers discussed integrating advanced technologies and intelligence, differentiating through embracing sustainability and ESG in design, and creating the agility needed to navigate global regulatory compliance to ensure market access.

This is the first time the symposium was conducted in English, which enabled broader international audience participation and high engagement.