ASTM International sponsored a Standards Alliance Medical Device Workshop in Lima, Peru, Nov. 2-4, 2015. Two members of ASTM Committee F04 on Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices were workshop speakers. Kenneth St. John, Ph.D., of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Department of Biomedical Materials Science, spoke on ASTM biocompatibility standards and Kenneth Perry, Ph.D., Echobio LLC, discussed ASTM standards for stents.

Maria Isabel Barrios, ASTM Latin America representative, presented information about how the ASTM/INACAL memorandum of understanding supports regulation in Peru, ASTM procedures and tools, and an introduction to ASTM Committee F04.

Almost 50 stakeholders from Peruvian government and industry organizations attended the event, which was conducted with the support of the USAID Standards Alliance and aimed at building an understanding of how the private and public sectors can collaborate on regulation to avoid technical barriers to trade. Other leading public and private stakeholders were also among the attendees.