General obligations of manufacturers
1.
When placing their devices on the market or putting them into service, manufacturers shall ensure that they have been designed and manufactured in accordance with the requirements of this Regulation.
2.
Manufacturers shall establish, document, implement and maintain a system for risk management as described in Section 3 of Annex I.
3.
Manufacturers shall conduct a performance evaluation in accordance with the requirements set out in Article 56 and Annex XIII, including a PMPF.
4.
Manufacturers shall draw up and keep up to date the technical documentation for those devices. The technical documentation shall be such as to allow the conformity of the device with the requirements of this Regulation to be assessed. The technical documentation shall include the elements set out in Annexes II and III.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 108 amending, in the light of technical progress, the Annexes II and III.
5.
Where compliance with the applicable requirements has been demonstrated following the applicable conformity assessment procedure, manufacturers of devices, other than devices for performance study, shall draw up an EU declaration of conformity in accordance with Article 17, and affix the CE marking of conformity in accordance with Article 18.
6.
Manufacturers shall comply with the obligations relating to the UDI system referred to in Article 24 and with the registration obligations referred to in Article 26 and 28.
7.
Manufacturers shall keep the technical documentation, the EU declaration of conformity and, if applicable, a copy of the relevant certificate, including any amendments and supplements, issued in accordance with Article 51, available for the competent authorities for a period of at least 10 years after the last device covered by the EU declaration of conformity has been placed on the market.
Upon request by a competent authority, the manufacturer shall, as indicated therein, provide that technical documentation in its entirety or a summary thereof.
A manufacturer with a registered place of business outside the Union shall, in order to allow its authorised representative to fulfil the tasks mentioned in Article 11(3), ensure that the authorised representative has the necessary documentation permanently available.
8.
Manufacturers shall ensure that procedures are in place to keep series production in conformity with the requirements of this Regulation. Changes in product design or characteristics and changes in the harmonised standards or CS by reference to which the conformity of a product is declared shall be adequately taken into account in a timely manner. Manufacturers of devices, other than devices for performance study, shall establish, document, implement, maintain, keep up to date and continually improve a quality management system that shall ensure compliance with this Regulation in the most effective manner and in a manner that is proportionate to the risk class and the type of device.
The quality management system shall cover all parts and elements of a manufacturer's organisation dealing with the quality of processes, procedures and devices. It shall govern the structure, responsibilities, procedures, processes and management resources required to implement the principles and actions necessary to achieve compliance with the provisions of this Regulation.
The quality management system shall address at least the following aspects:
(a)
a strategy for regulatory compliance, including compliance with conformity assessment procedures and procedures for management of modifications to the devices covered by the system;
(b)
identification of applicable general safety and performance requirements and exploration of options to address those requirements;
(c)
responsibility of the management;
(d)
resource management, including selection and control of suppliers and sub-contractors;
(e)
risk management as set out in Section 3 of Annex I;
(f)
performance evaluation, in accordance with Article 56 and Annex XIII, including PMPF;
(g)
product realisation, including planning, design, development, production and service provision;
(h)
verification of the UDI assignments made in accordance with Article 24(3) to all relevant devices and ensuring consistency and validity of information provided in accordance with Article 26;
(i)
setting-up, implementation and maintenance of a post-market surveillance system, in accordance with Article 78;
(j)
handling communication with competent authorities, notified bodies, other economic operators, customers and/or other stakeholders;
(k)
processes for reporting of serious incidents and field safety corrective actions in the context of vigilance;
(l)
management of corrective and preventive actions and verification of their effectiveness;
(m)
processes for monitoring and measurement of output, data analysis and product improvement.
9.
Manufacturers of devices shall implement and keep up to date the post-market surveillance system in accordance with Article 78.
10.
Manufacturers shall ensure that the device is accompanied by the information set out in Section 20 of Annex I in an official Union language(s) determined by the Member State in which the device is made available to the user or patient. The particulars on the label shall be indelible, easily legible and clearly comprehensible to the intended user or patient.
The information supplied in accordance with Section 20 of Annex I with devices for self-testing or near-patient testing shall be easily understandable and provided in the official Union language(s) determined by the Member State in which the device is made available to the user or patient.
11.
Manufacturers that consider or have reason to believe that a device which they have placed on the market or put into service is not in conformity with this Regulation shall immediately take the necessary corrective action to bring that device into conformity, to withdraw it or to recall it, as appropriate. They shall inform the distributors of the device in question and, where applicable, the authorised representative and importers accordingly.
Where the device presents a serious risk, manufacturers shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which they made the device available and, where applicable, the notified body that issued a certificate for the device in accordance with Article 51, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective action taken.
12.
Manufacturers shall have a system for recording and reporting of incidents and field safety corrective actions as described in Articles 82 and 83.
13.
Manufacturers shall, upon request by a competent authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the device, in an official Union language determined by the Member State concerned. The competent authority of the Member State in which the manufacturer has its registered place of business may require that the manufacturer provide samples of the device free of charge or, where that is impracticable, grant access to the device. Manufacturers shall cooperate with a competent authority, at its request, on any corrective action taken to eliminate or, if that is not possible, mitigate the risks posed by devices which they have placed on the market or put into service.
If the manufacturer fails to cooperate or the information and documentation provided is incomplete or incorrect, the competent authority may, in order to ensure the protection of public health and patient safety, take all appropriate measures to prohibit or restrict the device's being made available on its national market, to withdraw the device from that market or to recall it until the manufacturer cooperates or provides complete and correct information.
If a competent authority considers or has reason to believe that a device has caused damage, it shall, upon request, facilitate the provision of the information and documentation referred to in the first subparagraph to the potentially injured patient or user and, as appropriate, the patient's or user's successor in title, the patient's or user's health insurance company or other third parties affected by the damage caused to the patient or user, without prejudice to data protection rules and, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure, without prejudice to the protection of intellectual property rights.
The competent authority need not comply with the obligation laid down in the third subparagraph where disclosure of the information and documentation referred to in the first subparagraph is ordinarily dealt with in the context of legal proceedings.
14.
Where manufacturers have their devices designed or manufactured by another legal or natural person the information on the identity of that person shall be part of the information to be submitted in accordance with Article 26(3).
15.
Natural or legal persons may claim compensation for damage caused by a defective device in accordance with applicable Union and national law.
Manufacturers shall, in a manner that is proportionate to the risk class, type of device and the size of the enterprise, have measures in place to provide sufficient financial coverage in respect of their potential liability under Directive 85/374/EEC, without prejudice to more protective measures under national law.