Val Theisz is a regulatory professional with over 15 years’ experience in medical device regulations, of which she spent 8 in leadership roles in regulatory affairs, regulatory operations, and quality assurance. She holds a masters degree in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Timişoara, Romania, and a Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC) for European and US regulations from the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS). Val has been a RAPS fellow since 2010. Working on both sides of the regulatory divide—as a reviewer and quality systems auditor (7 years) and in roles with responsibility for obtaining regulatory approvals and maintaining regulatory compliance (10 years)—enabled Val to gain an in-depth understanding of the typical challenges facing medical device companies. One of her achievements was obtaining the CE marking approval for a life-sustaining active implantable medical device within six months from the date of submission. During a five-year stint as regulatory operations manager with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies, Val implemented electronic data management systems for a large product portfolio and learned about process improvement techniques.
I can only commend Val's book to all newcomers in the regulatory profession, be it in industry or in a regulatory agency. It explains the basics very well also for a start-up or an inventor who has to start dealing with regulations if he or she ever wants to market a product. I'm sure it could also be used as a valuable tool for those departments or ministries of health that want to set up a new national medical device regulatory agency in their jurisdictions. As it gives a global overview of how regulatory systems are applied in different legal settings and how industry should deal with these requirements, it is a unique guidance reference book for medical device regulations. Using the information contained in this book will make life easier for regulatory affairs professionals. - Rainer Voelksen, Project Manager, Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Chairman 2015, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS)