A new trade body focusing on medical devices and packaging held its inaugural meeting in Brussels last month.
MedPharmPlast Europe (MPPE), which forms part of the European Plastics Converters (EuPC) group, was founded to "address the many challenges faced by the industry," it said in a statement.
It will focus on legislation and coordinating industry responses covering plastics in medical devices and packaging; participation in the Medical Devices Expert Group of the European Commission; creating an advocacy plan in the EU to defend members' interests; EU research projects on plastics in the medical sector; market intelligence, and workshop events.
A spokesman for MPPE told PRW the group currently had 16 member companies from seven European Union countries.
Thierry Eyrard, general manager of Germany-headquartered Fresenius Medical Care-SMAD, was appointed chairman for a three-year term.
Noting that the development of MPPE began three years ago, Eyrard said the formation of the group meant its members were now speaking "with once voice.
"We will work in the coming months to analyze problems and propose solutions, setting up a realistic roadmap to solve them.
"For that we would like to count on as many companies from the plastics value chain as possible in order to be stronger, joining forces to benefit the plastics medical devices and packaging industry."