The EU Green Deal: the challenge of greening medical technologies

Abstract

Abstract As sustainability has been a growing priority of the European Union (EU) in the last decade, especially since the establishment of the EU Green Deal, the medical technology sector – including the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) sector – must comply with European legislation in this field, like all other sectors. However, this sector faces particular challenges as the health and safety of human lives are at stake. Chemicals, in particular, can comprise a politically sensitive issue, as they can pose risks to the environment that need to be managed. At the same time, the same chemicals can be considered essential to safeguard continuity of diagnostic services to health systems, who rely on laboratory medicines for the treatment of patients. An important task for the EU Green Deal to succeed, from an IVD sector perspective, is therefore to find the right balance between serving patients on the one hand and protecting the planet on the other.