Device Makers See Easier Approval Process Coming To Japan

Executive Summary

Makers of medical devices anticipate quicker Japanese action on future approvals in the wake of recent moves by regulators. New reimbursement measures have been approved and recent trade talks indicate future slight changes in a product will not suffer the full approval process. Philip Agress, vice president of AdvaMed, said Japan now has the slowest approval process in the industrialized world and foreign companies have had to jump through more hoops than domestic makers. The Japanese market for medical devices, at $20 billion, is second only to that of the United States. (Click here for more