In brief: Health Canada will leave COVID-19 Interim Orders in place until fall 2021

Health Canada (HC) announced plans to leave several Interim Orders relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in place until fall of next year.

Health Canada Interim Orders on medical devices will remain effective

Beginning in March 2020, the regulator established five Interim Orders, three of which pertain to medical devices, as part of its push to expedite the approval of new healthcare technologies and to ensure the adequate supply of needed treatments. In order to maintain a stable regulatory environment for medical device and drug manufacturers to access the market, Health Canada is now committing to extending all of the IOs through fall 2021 at the earliest. By this point, HC plans to have introduced regulatory amendments to preserve the desired balance of flexibility and regulatory oversight beyond this time frame.

Upcoming consultations on regulatory amendments

HC’s next steps given in the announcement will be to hold public consultations with stakeholders on the content of the proposed regulatory amendments. The web page will be updated with links to such consultations as they occur. An email contact is given for interested parties to make further inquiries about the process.