There’s so much work that already goes into the development of life science products before even thinking about the necessary compliance steps. This high volume of work often leads development teams to push away compliance activities until later on, which can actually lead to rework and other negative consequences. Yet one compliance avenue that can get folded into this shuffle is your product’s use specification.

So, you’ve decided to adopt a compliance software tool into your life science organization as part of your product development activities. Congratulations! Now that you’ve made that big decision, here comes the tough part: transition and implementation.

Does your life science organization need to adopt a compliance software tool?

Many organizations tend to stick with what’s worked for them in the past for regulatory compliance due to its complexities and the need to assure that new products are safe and effective. This is especially true when it comes to compliance activities such as design controls. While this attitude is understandable, it does present some problems. It can limit an organization’s ability to remain competitive in the market, and it can also impede long-term business growth.

In July 2019, Ed Margerrison and Hilda Scharen of CDRH released information on FDA Voices about how the agency is working to increase the pace of medical device innovation. By using sound science and proven methodologies, FDA plans to work with device manufacturers to get beneficial products to market faster.

FDA’s Design Controls regulation can be an open book but sometimes hard to read. Interpretations of the various regulatory requirements contained within 21 CFR 820.30 can vary both between and within life science organizations. The challenge becomes interpreting the requirements and implementing them into your development processes in such a way that does not negatively impact product quality or your larger quality system.

FDA’s Design Controls regulation has no clear mandate as to the purpose of design reviews. Rather, they are concerned with seeing evidence these reviews are conducted at regular intervals by appropriate parties. Determining what data comes out of a design review is ultimately up to your organization’s needs and objectives.

Compliance from the start—why make it a priority in life science product development?

In life science industries, many believe that regulatory inspections are focused more on postmarket activities. This attitude isn’t surprising; however, its results can be detrimental. Many companies elect to focus on bolstering their postmarket compliance, allowing other regulatory activities such as design controls to lapse or deteriorate over time. Unfortunately for these companies, the truth about regulatory inspections is starkly different than their beliefs, and that can come back to haunt them.