RIYADH — The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has invited interested people in medical equipment and supplies, and regulatory authorities to register for the 26th annual meeting of the Global Harmonization Working Party (GHWP), which is organized by Saudi Arabia, represented by SFDA, from Feb. 13 to 16, 2023, at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Riyadh.

The meeting aims to discuss regulatory developments in medical devices and technological developments, including artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, medical software, and medical biotechnology.

It also aims to enhance the harmonization and convergence in medical device regulation between countries, developing regulatory systems and legislation for medical devices per the best international practices, and helping emerging countries to build their regulatory systems and benefit from the different experiences of GHWP members.

GHWP, which is chaired by the Executive Vice President of the SFDA's medical devices sector Eng. Ali Al-Dalaan, is a non-profit organization that includes 32 regulatory authorities, including Saudi Arabia, China, the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Moreover, the organization is in continuous coordination with several strategic partners and other organizations such as (APEC, WHO, OECD) and the International Medical Devices Regulators Forum.

GHWP includes nine scientific and technical working groups. The Kingdom participates in all scientific and technical working groups with experts in the field, in addition to chairing the two working groups for pre-marketing requirements — Software as a medical device, and the quality management system: audit and assessment.

The working groups launch their tasks according to an annual plan which is approved by the GHWP chair and the leaderships of the scientific and technical working groups to prepare legislative regulations for the medical device industry from the stages of innovation to clinical trials and approval by the regulatory authorities after ensuring that the compliance with the regulatory requirements to ensure the safety, quality, and effectiveness in diagnosis and treatment.

To attend the meeting and the accompanying sessions, registration is open via the following link:

https://www.sfda.gov.sa/en/ghwp-annual-meeting. — SPA