Statement by the VDGH and other associations On the Commission proposal to amend the MDR and IVDR of 16.12.2025

The implementation of the (MDR and) IVDR has presented the industry with considerable challenges in recent years - not because the objectives were wrong, but because the complexity, unpredictability and burden on the system have become too great.

The Commission proposal presented on December 16, 2025 to amend the (MDR and) IVDR is therefore generally viewed positively by the VDGH and the undersigned associations. It contains central and urgently needed measures to ensure the functionality of the European market, remove barriers to innovation and strengthen security of supply. Swift adoption is crucial in order to avoid further exacerbating existing bottlenecks and competitive disadvantages.

The VDGH has paid particular attention to the specific concerns of the diagnostics industry: In three position papers, the VDGH addresses concrete IVD-specific needs for adaptation and clarification of the Commission's proposal, which we recommend to the German government for its Council position. Firstly, a practicable orphan IVD framework is needed to keep diagnostics for rare diseases on the EU market in the long term. Secondly, terminological changes must not trigger disproportionate global re-authorization obligations if nothing has changed in the product itself. Thirdly, routine blood sampling in IVDR performance studies must be clearly classified as low-risk standard measures - otherwise there is a risk of unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that slow down clinical research and weaken Europe as a study location.

In a nutshell: The Association of the Diagnostics Industry (VDGH)

As a trade association, the German Diagnostics Industry Association (VDGH) represents the interests of more than 100 companies operating in Germany with a total turnover of 6.8 billion euros in 2022. They manufacture examination systems and reagents for the diagnosis of human diseases, which generate a turnover of more than 3.5 billion euros, as well as instruments, reagents, test systems and consumables for research in the life sciences, which generate a turnover of 3.3 billion euros.

www.vdgh.de

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