Medtech group welcomes faster FDA reviews

Minnesota's medical device industry is welcoming a Food and Drug Administration report saying the agency is speeding up the review of new products.

The agency says the speed and predictability of device reviews have improved for the first time in almost a decade. The FDA says the backlog of devices waiting more than 90 work-days for a decision has dropped by almost two-thirds since 2010.

Shaye Mandle, a spokesman for Minnesota's med-tech industry group, LifeScience Alley, said the FDA report is encouraging.

"The FDA is making progress in the right direction. And we're certainly excited about that," Mandle said. "We've certainly got a long way to go. But we think this is a positive sign."

The FDA says more expedient reviews of medical devices will allow safe and effective devices to come to market faster and cheaper. The agency also says speedier reviews should facilitate innovation, especially by start-up companies needing venture capital to fund development of new technologies.