#418: Biocompatibility Brief - What Medical Device Companies Need to Know

Global Medical Device Podcast · 4 Aug 2025 · 29m · Episode 418

What this episode covers

Marina Daineko, a MedTech expert and chemist specializing in biological evaluations, explains the critical importance of integrating biocompatibility into a company's Quality Management System (QMS) rather than treating it as an isolated task. She details the necessity of analyzing raw data, such as the silver ion cytotoxicity anomaly, and distinguishing between extractables and leachables to assess cumulative risks for long-term implanted devices like the Ishur contraceptive. Daineko emphasizes that the revised ISO 10993-1 standard drives a shift from reactive testing to proactive risk assessment, requiring cross-functional communication to ensure patient safety throughout the device lifecycle.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Let's Combinate · 1h 31m

    025 - “The Frying Pan to the Fire” with Edwin Bills

    Edwin Bills, a Risk Management Expert and former committee member for ISO 14971, ISO TR 24971, and AAMI TIR 105, explains the evolution of risk management standards in medical devices and combination products. He details the philosophical differences between ISO 14971 and ICH Q9, emphasizing that risk management must focus on patient safety rather than just regulatory compliance. Bills advises engineers to use qualitative methods early in development and highlights the importance of analyzing interactions between drug and device constituents in combination products. He also discusses the expanded requirements for post-market surveillance in the 2019 standard and the upcoming harmonization of ISO 14971 in Europe.

  • Let's Combinate · 34m

    232 - MedTech Material Selection: Cost, Compliance, Sustainability, and Biocompatibility Risk

    Lucas Pianegonda, founder of Gradical, explains why medtech companies must move away from defaulting to legacy materials or molder preferences toward a structured, data-driven material selection framework. He details how early decisions on polymers like polycarbonate or PTFE impact total cost of goods, regulatory compliance, and sustainability, warning that late changes can cause multi-year delays and expensive retooling. The conversation covers the distinction between material grades and device-level biocompatibility, the risks of PFAS and additives, and the specific requirements of ISO 10993 for toxicological evaluation.

  • Let's Combinate · 24m

    161 - ISO 14971 and ICH Q9 EXPLAINED: Risk Management Frameworks in Medical Devices, Pharma and Combination Products

    Host Subhi Saadeh explains the distinct yet complementary roles of ISO 14971 and ICH Q9 in managing risk for combination products, highlighting how ISO 14971 focuses on patient safety through lifecycle management while ICH Q9 addresses broader pharmaceutical quality risks. He details the recent updates in ICH Q9 R1, particularly regarding managing subjectivity and scaling formality, and contrasts the structured, plan-driven approach of device risk management with the more collaborative, problem-driven nature of pharma risk assessments. Saadeh emphasizes critical concepts unique to ISO 14971, such as 'state of the art' for residual risk evaluation and the dual verification of implementation and effectiveness, which are essential for ensuring safety in complex drug-device combinations.

  • Let's Combinate · 48m

    127 - BIG Risk Management Changes in QMSR, Risk Acceptability, Risk Policy & Explaining vs. Justifying Risk Decisions with Naveen Aggarwal

    Naveen Aggarwal, founder of Creative Analytic Solutions, explains that the QMSR final rule does not mandate ISO 14971 but requires risk management to be integrated into ISO 13485 quality systems, shifting FDA inspection focus from procedural compliance to risk-based decision-making. He highlights that small and mid-size companies face significant costs to transition, while large firms must overcome the challenge of linking risk outputs to design inputs and post-market data. Aggarwal advises against standalone risk policies, suggesting instead that companies integrate risk acceptability criteria into their existing quality policies and use clear, binary (red/green) risk matrices rather than ambiguous yellow zones.

  • Let's Combinate · 32m

    202 - Becoming an Expert in the Work Nobody Wants to Do/Design, Risk, and the Messy Middle of Combination Products w/Joey Frechin

    Joey Frechin, a Senior Technical Program Manager in med tech consulting, explains the complexities of aligning risk assessments for combination products, noting that while drug and device teams are starting to integrate their processes, significant methodological gaps remain. He details the P1/P2 probability scoring methodology used in ISO 14971 to distinguish between device failure and patient harm, and shares his career strategy of becoming an expert in 'unwanted' but high-value tasks like DFMEA and PFMEA to bridge engineering and quality teams. Frechin also discusses current industry trends, where companies often pivot from complex bespoke designs to simplified or off-the-shelf subsystems to meet clinical trial timelines, highlighting the critical importance of early sterilization and accelerated aging testing to avoid late-stage failures.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Global Medical Device Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.