JEDDAH: The Kingdom is calling on experts from the medical sector to take part in the 26th meeting of the Global Harmonization Working Party, which studies and recommends ways to harmonize global medical device regulations and will be represented by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

The meeting will be held from Feb. 13-16 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Digital City, in Riyadh.

The SFDA tweeted on its official Twitter account on Monday: “The SFDA invites people interested in medical devices, manufacturers, and regulatory authorities for the 26th annual meeting of the GHWP, to discuss regulatory developments in medical devices and technological developments.”

The 26th meeting of the Global Harmonization Working Party GHWP to be held in Riyadh, Feb. 13 to 16. (SPA)

The meeting also aims to discuss artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, medical software, and biotechnology in order to create an environment of homogeneity and legislative convergence and develop regulatory systems for medical devices in accordance with international best practices.

It also aims to help emerging countries build their regulatory systems and benefit from the experiences of organization members.

The GHWP is a nonprofit organization comprised of over 30 regulatory bodies, including Saudi Arabia, China, the US, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Saudi regulatory body is headed by Ali Al-Dalaan, the executive vice president of the medical devices sector at the SFDA.

The GHWP is a group of experts from medical device regulatory authorities and the medical device industry. It gathers a number of consultants with regulatory experience from various member states as it provides continuous coordination with global strategic partners and organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, World Health Organization, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Medical Devices Regulators Forum.

The Kingdom participates in all scientific and technical working groups with specialized and experienced members in the field, in addition to chairing two working groups of pre-marketing requirements for medical software and quality management systems for medical devices.

To register to attend the event and for more information, visit sfda.gov.sa/en/ghwp-annual-meeting