The article Medical Device Development for Children and Young People—Reviewing the Challenges and Opportunities has just been published on Pharmaceutics.

Fedele Bonifazi, president of Fondazione Benzi, cooperated in this review aimed to investigate the complexities in the development of Medical Devices (MDs) for children as well as the market need and the regulatory framework related to paediatric MDs.

In the last decade, there has been an exponential rise in the development of MDs with a concomitant rise in the number of companies working in the life sciences sector.

The article underlines that MD development for children should address changes in growth and psychosocial maturation, physiology and pathophysiology, and avoid inappropriate repurposing of adult technologies.

Moreover, several technology areas that have led to successful paediatric MDs, have been discussed, including 3D printing, advanced materials, drug delivery and diagnostic imaging.

Authors also point out that to ensure the targeted development of paediatric MDs, collaboration across multiple professional disciplines is required, facilitated by a platform to foster collaboration and drive innovation.

To this end, the European Paediatric Translational Research Infrastructure (EPTRI) will be established as the European platform to support collaboration, including the life sciences industrial sector, to identify unmet needs in child health and support the development, adoption, and commercialisation of paediatric MDs.

Discover more by reading the full article here!