Article 120
Transitional provisions
1. From 26 May 2020, any publication of a notification in respect of a notified body in accordance with
Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC shall become void.
2. Certificates issued by notified bodies in accordance with Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC prior to 25 May 2017 shall remain valid until the end of the period indicated on the certificate, except for certificates issued in accordance with Annex 4 to Directive 90/385/EEC or Annex IV to Directive 93/42/EEC which shall become void at the latest on 27 May 2022.
Certificates issued by notified bodies in accordance with Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC from 25 May 2017 shall remain valid until the end of the period indicated on the certificate, which shall not exceed five years from its issuance.
They shall however become void at the latest on 27 May 2024.
3. By way of derogation from Article 5 of this Regulation, a device with a certificate that was issued in accordance with Directive 90/385/EEC or Directive 93/42/EEC and which is valid by virtue of paragraph 2 of this Article may only be placed on the market or put into service provided that from the date of application of this Regulation it continues to comply with either of those Directives, and provided there are no significant changes in the design and intended purpose. However, the requirements of this Regulation relating to post-market surveillance, market surveillance, vigilance, registration of economic operators and of devices shall apply in place of the corresponding requirements in those Directives.
Without prejudice to Chapter IV and paragraph 1 of this Article, the notified body that issued the certificate referred to in the first subparagraph shall continue to be responsible for the appropriate surveillance in respect of all of the applicable requirements relating to the devices it has certified.
4. Devices lawfully placed on the market pursuant to Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC prior to 26 May 2020, and devices placed on the market from 26 May 2020 by virtue of a certificate as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, may continue to be made available on the market or put into service until 27 May 2025.
5. By way of derogation from Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC, devices which comply with this Regulation may be placed on the market prior to 26 May 2020.
6. By way of derogation from Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC, conformity assessment bodies which comply with this Regulation may be designated and notified prior 26 May 2020. Notified bodies which are designated and notified in accordance with this Regulation may carry out the conformity assessment procedures laid down in this Regulation and issue certificates in accordance with this Regulation prior to 26 May 2020.
7. As regards devices subject to the consultation procedure laid down in Article 54, paragraph 5 of this Article shall apply provided that the necessary appointments to the MDCG and expert panels have been made.
8. By way of derogation from Article 10a and point (a) of Article 10b(1) of Directive 90/385/EEC and Article 14(1) and (2) and points (a) and (b) of Article 14a(1) of Directive 93/42/EEC, manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and notified bodies which, during the period starting on the later of the dates referred to point (d) of Article 123(3) and ending 18 months later, comply with Article 29(4) and Article 56(5) of this Regulation shall be considered to comply with the laws and regulations adopted by Member States in accordance with, respectively, Article 10a of Directive 90/385/EEC or Article 14(1) and (2) of Directive 93/42/EEC and with, respectively, point (a) of Article 10b(1) of Directive 90/385/EEC or points (a) and (b) of Article 14a(1) of Directive 93/42/EEC as specified in Decision 2010/227/EU.
9. Authorisations granted by the competent authorities of the Member States in accordance with Article 9(9) of Directive 90/385/EEC or Article 11(13) of Directive 93/42/EEC shall keep the validity indicated in the authorisation.
10. Devices falling within the scope of this Regulation in accordance with points (f) and (g) of Article 1(6) which have been legally placed on the market or put into service in accordance with the rules in force in the Member States prior to 26 May 2020 may continue to be placed on the market and put into service in the Member States concerned.
11. Clinical investigations which have started to be conducted in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 90/385/EEC or Article 15 of Directive 93/42/EEC prior to 26 May 2020 may continue to be conducted. As of 26 May 2020, however, the reporting of serious adverse events and device deficiencies shall be carried out in accordance with this Regulation.
12. Until the Commission has designated, pursuant to Article 27(2), issuing entities, GS1, HIBCC and ICCBBA shall be considered to be designated issuing entities.
In very short words it can be concluded that article 120 defines when MDR is “the only way out” and for how long you can put devices on the market with a valid MDD certificate.
If you have a valid MDD certificate that was issued before 26th of May 2020 you can still put those devices, covered by that certificate, on the market until 26th of May 2024. BUT you are not allowed to make any substantial changes to the design or intended use of those devices during this period.
So if you are putting new or changed medical devices on the market you now need to comply with the MDR.
Nevertheless article 120 states that, even if you are selling devices under a MDD certificate you still need to comply to some parts of the MDR already. Those requirements are basically the following:
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Pontus Gedda is a dedicated medical device specialist that has worked both in the industry, as a design engineer and project manager, and in the notified body world as a medical device lead auditor and manager.
He has vast experience in the MDR and its implementation through hands-on experience from implementing the MDR at a notified body and leading that notified body through a joint assessment and getting designated as an MDR notified body.
He was a senior manager at a notified body during the transition from MDD to MDR and also a member of the NB-MED group.
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