Review of regulatory management on standards and specifications for veterinary medical devices in Korea

Well-established standards and specifications for medical devices not only provide clarity and consistency in licensing processes but also secure device safety and effectiveness. This study reviewed regulatory standards and specifications for veterinary medical devices in Korea based on data obtained through analyses of those medical devices. General standards for electromechanical, electromagnetic, and biological safety and individual standards for 76 electric and 70 general medical device products have been established by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. However, the first standards and specifications for veterinary medical devices were established in March 2000 for two products (disposable needle and syringe). Similar to the large number of standards for medical devices, there have been general standards for safety and individual standards for 72 veterinary medical devices (27 electric medical devices, 12 non-electric medical devices, 10 medical supplies, and 23 other types) established since 2014. These new standards considered, among other aspects, the devices' applications, usage characteristics, and industrial environment. To date, the establishment of standards and specifications for veterinary medical devices remains limited. This study suggests that improvements should be made to the regulation of general and individual standards associated with various veterinary medical instruments, supplies, and in vitro diagnostic medical reagents.

Performance assessment and improvement plan of the regulatory management system of veterinary medical devices in Korea / 대한수의학회지

In this study, the Korean veterinary medical devices management system was evaluated relative to systems in the USA, EU, and Japan. Veterinary medical devices are regulated in Korea based on the Medical Appliance Act of 1997. This was initially supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Korea Animal Health Products Association, and subsequently by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (QIA) in 2000. These devices were classified approximately 1,400 categories as instruments, supplies, artificial insemination apparatus, and other categories. Each of these devices was assigned to four regulatory grades by the QIA in 2007. The ranking system for veterinary medical devices was implemented in 2014 with 820 products from 162 companies registered by that year. However, in vitro diagnostic devices (IVDDs) for animals were managed as medical devices and biological medicine. In vitro diagnostic reagents for treating infection diseases are not subjected to either a classification or grading system. Veterinary medical devices are currently exempt from good manufacturing practices (GMP) and device tracking requirements. Due to gradual growth of the domestic veterinary medical devices market since 2008, regulation of these devices should be improved with re-examination of IVDDs and GMP certification for the effective operating system.