Introduction: With the aging of the post-war baby boomer generation, the increasing demands for healthcare are driving the growth of medical industry and development of new products in order to meet the immense needs from the aging population. However, medical devices are designed to maintain the health and safety of people, therefore, medical devices are undergoing rigorous management by competent health authorities in all countries. In recent years, Asian countries have been reforming their regulations and standards for medical devices with substantial changes.
Areas covered: The study is a summary of the framework of medical device regulations in Asian countries, including Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP), Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, India and Singapore. Expert commentary: Asian countries are constantly reforming their medical device regulations. The emergence of brand-new technology and quality management issues arose by global manufacturing have imposed difficulties in harmonizing and reaching consensus between countries. The third-party conformity assessment system for medical devices can reduce the costs for competent health authorities and shorten the review time, which could facilitate the feasibility of harmonization of medical device regulations.
Keywords: Asia; Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP); Medical device; regulation; third-party review.