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FEDERAL REGISTER · NOTICEDecember 18, 2025

Use of Real-World Evidence To Support Regulatory Decision-Making for Medical Devices; Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff; Availability

Document type
Notice
Agency
Health and Human Services Department
Published
December 18, 2025
Document number
2025-23252
ABSTRACT

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is announcing the availability of a final guidance entitled "Use of Real- World Evidence to Support Regulatory Decision-Making for Medical Devices." FDA is issuing this guidance to clarify how FDA evaluates real-world data (RWD) to determine whether they are of sufficient quality for generating real-world evidence (RWE) that can be used in FDA regulatory decision-making for medical devices. This final guidance supersedes the final guidance, "Use of Real-World Evidence to Support Regulatory Decision-Making for Medical Devices," issued August 31, 2017, and provides expanded and updated recommendations.

Abstract as published in the Federal Register.

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Document details are published in the U.S. Federal Register; SPEQ surfaces them for reference and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FDA or the Office of the Federal Register. The authoritative text is on federalregister.gov.