More and more medical device manufacturers are outsourcing the product development part of the manufacturing process to contract medical device manufacturers.
A vital part of the manufacturing process, the standard of product development has a direct impact on the quality, reliability and safety of a medical device, and reputation of your brand.
This makes choosing the right contract medical device manufacturing partner crucial. To help you make an informed choice and to select the partner best suited to your needs, here’s our guide on what you should expect from a contract manufacturer when it comes to product development.
How your contract manufacturer can assist with device development
There are a number of ways that the right medical device contract manufacturer should be able to assist with product development, helping ensure the highest levels of product quality, strict scheduling and optimum manufacturing process cost-efficiency:
- Supplier selection – a contract medical manufacturing partner should have a supply chain network firmly in place that ensures the cost-effective supply of the parts, components and processes that your medical product requires.
- Design for manufacturability – your product development partner should have design for manufacturability service capability. Having this important integrated/in-house service as part of their offering in-house will make the design phase cheaper and quicker than using a third-party design company.
- Material selection – the material that you use for your product is vital. Your product development and manufacturing contractor should have the expertise to ensure you choose the correct material for the product or have the resources to develop a new one.
- Prototyping to production – a key product development phase, product prototyping will give you and your manufacturing partner a better understanding of your production requirements, and the expertise to manage this step seamlessly.
- Regulatory approval – a contract medical devices manufacturer should be able to provide you with support relating to regulatory requirements, including documentation for your device file, for all the country markets you are targeting. Your contract manufacturer will welcome all audits from both you and your notified body.
- Time to market – your manufacturing partner should be able to deliver efficient product development and manufacturing processes, saving you time with regard to supply, sourcing, validation and verification, and with regard to arrival at market.
Product development and the right contract manufacturing partner
The medical device sector is a highly competitive marketplace, where quality demands are growing ever greater and regulations ever stricter, and where market agility and flexibility, and time to market are increasingly vital. As a company with a product to be manufactured, it is critical that you work with the right medical device contract manufacturer in the development and manufacture of your medical product.
Your partner should be a full-service specialist medical device manufacturer. This will ensure that you have access to specialist expertise and technology, including product development and prototyping, and to dedicated resources in supply chain management, quality systems and market delivery.
With this type of contract manufacturing partner working as part of your team, you can be confident of receiving the level of product development service, and product manufacturing delivery, that will help make your product a competitive force on the market.
Meridian Medical is an established and experienced contract medical equipment manufacturer specialising in a wide range of medical device design, development and supply services.
To find out more about how Meridian Medical can help you with your medical product design and manufacture, get in touch today by filling out our online form or contacting us on 01903 732344 or info@meridian-medical.com.
