Spotlight on why no longer just PMCF
Interview with Marcus Torr, Head of Post Market Surveys and Ellie Baker, Commercial Director
For over six years, Purdie Pascoe has been supporting manufacturers by conducting Post Market Clinical Follow-Up (PMCF) Surveys to support EU-MDR compliance, having delivered more than 500 to date. The team has been known in the market as; “The PMCF Survey Experts”, this phrase still rings true and remains at the heart of what we do.
However, our dedicated division has evolved. While PMCF remains a core part of our offering, we’re now applying our expertise to broader areas, including other forms of Real World Data (RWD) collection and Post Market Performance Follow-Up (PMPF).
In this conversation, Marcus and Ellie discuss the why behind the expansion of our services, the evolution of the team, and what it means for our clients at Purdie Pascoe.
Q. Please can you start by providing a quick introduction to yourselves?
Marcus: I joined Purdie Pascoe in 2015, shortly after graduating with a First Class MSci in Natural Sciences (Chemistry with Pharmacology) from the University of Bath. Ten years later, I’m still here, though my role has evolved from focusing on Primary Market Research to leading our Post Market Survey team, a position I’ve held for the past six years.
Ellie: I’m a more recent addition to the Purdie Pascoe team, having joined just six months ago, but I bring over a decade of experience in the medical device sector, spanning market research, business strategy, and evidence generation.
Before stepping into my current role within the Post Market Survey team, I was already well aware of Marcus’s work in establishing and growing the PMCF team, and how they earned the title “The PMCF Survey Experts.” It’s a reputation that’s genuinely well-deserved and one that we’re incredibly proud of. I’m delighted to be part of our next phase of growth, building on that strong foundation as we expand our focus beyond PMCF to encompass the full spectrum of Post Market Surveys.
Q. Purdie Pascoe recently had an all company meeting in the Cotswolds, nestled in the English countryside. Any highlights that jump to mind?
Marcus: Our first annual company meeting was back in 2021, when there were only about 15 of us. So meeting up for our fifth event this year and seeing how much the company has grown was pretty amazing. What I’m most grateful for is that, despite the growth, we’ve managed to keep the same closeness and spirit that can so easily get lost as teams get bigger.
My personal highlight was our Post Market Survey team session. It was led by our fantastic Research Managers and gave us the chance to connect, get to know each other better on a personal level, and then bring it all together by reflecting on how we work towards a shared goal—always within a supportive, collaborative environment.
Ellie: This was my first company-wide meeting since joining Purdie Pascoe, and honestly, I feel incredibly lucky to be part of a company that puts so much effort into making events like this happen. On top of the beautiful setting, the agenda struck the perfect balance between productive meetings, great training sessions, and fun team-building activities.
I left feeling inspired and motivated by the diversity of personalities and talent across the company. Everyone brings something different to the table, yet somehow we all fit together seamlessly, like a well-oiled machine.
Q. One of the stand-out sessions was dedicated to ‘Why no longer just PMCF’. What prompted the move from being purely PMCF survey specialists to offering broader PMPF and RWD services?
Marcus: RWD is one of those “hot topics” in the MedTech industry, but in truth, it’s been collected and used for many years. In fact, the PMCF survey data that Purdie Pascoe has been collecting over the past six years qualifies as RWD.
Back then, with the EU MDR on the horizon, there was a clear strategic advantage in focusing on PMCF surveys and becoming specialists in that niche. That focus allowed us to build deep expertise and a best-in-class approach to PMCF data collection.
Now, with that foundation in place, and having supported clients with broader data collection needs over the past few years, we’re ready to expand our offering. We’re leveraging our experience to support global submissions, whether that’s for updating of labelling, PMPF activities, or broader RWD strategies. It’s a natural evolution that reflects both the changing regulatory landscape and the needs of our clients.
Ellie: I see it as a natural progression: when reviewing the work carried out over the last six years, it was clear that many of our projects were already going beyond “traditional PMCF” and our post market survey methodology was being used to generate evidence not only for PMCF safety and performance, but also to support FDA and wider global submissions, and even enable label and indication expansions for our clients. With EU-IVDR now moving forward, it is also important for us to be ready to support post market performance follow-up (PMPF). So, the rebrand simply acknowledges what we’ve already become a partner offering efficient, scalable real-world data collection to support global regulatory compliance and market success.
Q: A representative from a key Notified Body spoke in the session, how do they view data from broader RWD sources compared to traditional PMCF survey data?
Marcus: I can cover this one. It was clear from this session that regulators and notified bodies are increasingly recognising the value of broader RWD sources, such as patient registries, electronic health records, and observational surveys. These sources offer a more representative view of device performance in everyday clinical settings, often capturing diverse patient populations and long-term outcomes. They are generally less burdensome to collect and can be more ethically and logistically feasible, particularly for legacy devices or rare conditions.
That said, broader RWD is typically observational in nature, which introduces challenges around bias, data completeness, and scientific rigour. These limitations mean that while RWD is valuable, it must be carefully validated and contextualised to meet regulatory expectations.
PMCF survey data, which should be considered a form of RWD, remains a cornerstone of postmarket surveillance under the EU MDR. It allows for targeted data collection on specific endpoints and is often more structured and statistically robust, with a clear focus on demonstrating the safety and performance of the device in question.
In summary, RWD should be built into all manufacturers’ proactive data collection strategies. While it can be classified as PMCF data under EU MDR, it also has broader utility - supporting regulatory submissions across jurisdictions and helping manufacturers generate meaningful insights into device use and outcomes.
Q. What kind of medical devices, clients or markets are now better served because of this broader scope?
Marcus: While there hasn’t been a dramatic shift in the types of devices or clients we serve, the broader scope of RWD has expanded our ability to support the MedTech industry across both medical devices and diagnostics. Crucially, we’re no longer limited to data collection solely under the EU MDR framework.
Whether a product is marketed in Europe, the US, or other global regions, our expertise and approach can be applied to collect high-quality data that supports both regulatory and clinical submissions. This flexibility means we can better serve clients operating in diverse markets, with varying regulatory requirements, and across a wider range of device types, from high-risk implants to in vitro diagnostics.
Q: Did this evolution require a change in how the team is structured or how projects are managed?
Ellie: I don’t believe it has, not significantly at least, as our core team structure and project management approach remains the same. What has evolved is who we are engaging with. We are widening our network to include additional user groups such as laboratory technicians, biomedical scientists, and increasingly patients. It does mean our team is continuing to grow!
Q: How does this shift align with the other part of the business in conducting primary market research for in MedTech? How can Purdie Pascoe support across the full lifecycle?
Marcus: This shift comes at a perfect time, whereby our Post Market Survey team can now support a wider portion of the MedTech industry alongside our commitment to serving MedTech as a company as a whole. Our offering spans the entire device lifecycle and covers cross functional needs. Our Primary Market Research team is able to support in bringing qualitative and quantitative insights for product development and marketing needs, while the Post Market Survey is able to support clinical and regulatory submissions through RWE collection once the device is on the market. Purdie Pascoe is not isolated to a specific need, but can be your trusted partner through each stage of your device’s lifecycle.
Q: Will this expanded capability allow the team to support more complex devices or therapeutic areas?
Ellie: I wouldn’t say it’s about moving into more complex devices or drastically widening our therapeutic coverage, we already have extensive experience there. Over the last six years, we’ve conducted more than 500 surveys covering over 300 different devices across a vast range of therapy areas. What this evolution does is strengthen our ability to adapt our methodology to different technologies and evidence needs.
Q: Given the recent expansion, what excites you most about the future for the Post Market Survey team at Purdie Pascoe?
Marcus: I have now been at Purdie Pascoe for over 10 years, and I can’t think of a more exciting time to be here. Our new positioning as a Post Market Survey team provides real focus to the high-quality work we have been doing for many years focusing on PMCF, but now expands our offering to add increased value and strategic support for our amazing clients across the globe under different regulatory jurisdictions.
Ellie: I believe this evolution takes us from being niche to truly specialised. We have built a deep level of expertise in post market data collection and are now in a position to apply that knowledge more broadly. What excites me the most is being able to confidently share with a broader audience our proactive, cost-effective and scalable real-world data collection solutions. We can help manufacturers meet the demand for high-quality post market evidence, not only for regulatory compliance, but to also drive market and clinical impact.