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Joe Byrne

Joe Byrne
Joe Byrne is the CEO of Cognidox. With a career spanning medical device start-ups and fortune 500 companies, Joe has over 25 years of experience in the medical device and high-tech product development industries. With extensive experience in scaling businesses, process improvement, quality, medical devices and product development, Joe is a regular contributor to the Cognidox DMS Insights blog where he shares expertise on scaling and streamlining the entire product development cycle, empowering enterprises to achieve governance, compliance, and rigour.

Recent Posts

Should you buy bundled ISO 13485 procedures for your med tech QMS?

It’s a fair question - especially when you’re staring down the barrel of an audit, short on time, and knee-dee...

4 min read

Is Google Drive Suitable for Your Medical Device QMS?

A Quality Management System is a requirement for medical device developers across the globe. But should you bu...

6 min read

The road to stress-free clinical trial document management with Cognidox

Managing clinical trial documents manually can be a major headache. From consent forms to sample tracking logs...

4 min read

ISO 13485: How to Plan Successful Stage 1 and Stage 2 Audits

If your company needs to certify your Quality Management System (QMS) to the ISO 13485 standard, knowing how t...

4 min read

8 common mistakes medical device startups and scale-ups must avoid

When you’re bring a medical device to market, you’re stepping into one of the most competitive and regulated i...

4 min read

Why not use Microsoft software to build your own digital QMS?

SMEs creating a digital Quality Management System (QMS) often turn to familiar, digital tools to build a solut...

5 min read

Understanding the Importance of Document Lifecycle Management

What are the 7 stages of the document lifecycle? Why is managing and controlling the lifecycle a critical part...

5 min read

How to structure your QMS documentation for ISO 13485 compliance

How should you structure your documentation to meet the requirements of ISO 13485?

4 min read

Training management in your medical device QMS: what’s required?

Training management is a big deal for medical device developers. Get it wrong, and you risk fines, product rec...

5 min read

Mastering Medical Device Development: An A-Z Guide of Acronyms

The regulations and literature surrounding medical device development are packed with acronyms and technical t...

13 min read

QMS eQMS and DMS. What's the difference?

There are different ways companies can build required quality management systems, from using traditional paper...

6 min read

5 Phases of Developing Medical Devices: A Comprehensive Guide

The medical device development process is typically broken down into five distinct phases. Each one requires i...

6 min read

The FDA Predetermined Change Control Plan: What you need to know

Documentation continues to be of vital importance to medical device development in the age of AI. One example?...

3 min read

Should you use Box as a Document Management System?

Box is a popular cloud-based content management solution that companies use to manage files and collaborate on...

6 min read

The Importance of Document Review in New Product Development

Inadequate document review is often the root cause of failure in new product development and manufacturing pro...

3 min read

AI in Medical Devices: Navigating the Regulation in the US, UK, and EU

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into medical devices represents one of the most promising yet ...

4 min read

What’s the best eQMS software for medical device developers in 2025?

There are many eQMS platforms out there that have been helping medical device developers bring their products ...

6 min read

Adventures in quality management: how document control became sexy

In the past, document management was an unglamorous business. Not every company was digitised, and those that ...

4 min read

Is Cognidox an eQMS?

Here’s the truth. Cognidox was never conceived as an eQMS platform, but that’s been the secret of its success ...

4 min read

Is MasterControl the Right eQMS for Med Tech Startups and SMEs?

MasterControl is one of the most widely known electronic Quality Management Systems (eQMS) in the life science...

3 min read

Cognidox unleashes exciting new integration features in v10.4 release

Cambridge, UK, 22 October 2024: Cognidox, a leading provider of document management solutions for high-tech, m...

2 min read

Why not use Sharepoint as a Document Management System?

What’s wrong with SharePoint, anyway? Why shouldn’t it be used as a document management system (DMS) for a gro...

6 min read

What are the FDA's requirements for CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action)

Having a repeatable procedure for Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) is a key FDA requirement for medical...

5 min read

Understanding Electronic Document Management Systems (EDMS)

An Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) is a software that centrally stores and organises documentatio...

6 min read

Electronic vs Digital Signatures: Are You Compliant?

Would your business benefit from using electronic signatures within your digital quality management system (eQ...

6 min read

A Guide to Compiling a DHF for Medical Device Development

The FDA’s new QMSR is dropping the reference to the DHF (Design History File) when it takes effect in 2026. Bu...

4 min read

Demystifying Medical Device Audits: Requirements, Process, and Impact

Medical device audits can be a source of stress for developers and manufacturers. But what exactly are the aud...

6 min read

Document Control for Biotech Companies: Protecting Your Most Valuable Assets

In the biotech scale-up space, your data and documentation are often the extent of your IP. That’s why you nee...

3 min read

10 Reasons Fabless Semiconductor Companies Need Document Control

With complexity and costs rising, fabless semiconductor companies need to do all they can to keep their flow a...

6 min read

Is Q-Pulse the Right eQMS for Med Tech Startups?

Q-Pulse (by Ideagen) is a long-standing quality management system used across pharma, aviation, and life scien...

4 min read

What Is EU Annex 11? How Does It Support GMP in Life Sciences?

EU Annex 11 provides guidelines for the use of computerised systems in ensuring Good Manufacturing Practices (...

4 min read

Medical Device Risk Management: ISO 13485 and ISO 14971 Compliance

ISO 14971:2019 defines the international requirements of risk management systems for medical devices. How does...

8 min read

Biotech Startup Companies: How to Take on the Pharma Giants and Win

Dubbed the 'combination of money and molecules', Biotech is a famously hard sector in which to find and fund s...

5 min read

Navigating UKCA Marking for Medical Devices: What You Need to Know

Post-Brexit, there is still confusion about the future use of the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) markings and w...

5 min read

Understanding FDA 21 CFR Part 11: A Guide for Life Science Developers

WTH is FDA 21 CFR Part 11? That’s a question many life science developers wanting to access the US market must...

5 min read

10 Steps for Seamless EQMS Data Migration

Transferring data to a new electronic Quality Management System (eQMS) can seem like a daunting prospect. Here...

3 min read

What happened at CogniCon24?

On the 16th of May, Cognidox welcomed nearly 100 attendees from across the high-tech, medical device, and phar...

3 min read

5 Steps to a Robust Corrective Action Process

It’s the job of your corrective action process to identify and eliminate the systemic issues that will prevent...

6 min read

5 Challenges in Building a Pharmacovigilance System Master File

Managing the integrity and accessibility of a PSMF (Pharmacovigilance System Master File) is a key challenge f...

5 min read

The Importance of Document Control Systems in Business Operations

What does it mean to 'control documents'? And who needs a formal document control system to manage and optimis...

6 min read

Ultimate Guide to Deviation Management in Pharma & Bioscience

Managing deviations from standard operational procedures is critical to product quality and regulatory complia...

6 min read

Announcing CogniCon 24 - save the date!

The Cognidox team is delighted to announce we will be hosting CogniCon 24 on 16 May 2024. This is a networking...

1 min read

Why not just use Google Drive as a Document Management System?

Google Drive is a cloud-based program that allows you to create, edit, store, and share documents. Many busine...

5 min read

Mastering ICH Q8 R2: A Guide to Pharma Excellence

ICH Q8 R2 are international guidelines for ensuring Quality by Design in pharmaceutical development. Here’s wh...

4 min read

Mastering Non-Conformance Reports: A Guide for Quality Management

How do you log and deal with non-conformities so that faulty products don't end up in the hands of customers? ...

6 min read

Making the Switch: Transforming Your TMF into an eTMF

A Trial Master File (TMF) is a comprehensive collection of documents that ensures the conduct of your clinical...

4 min read

The Vital Role of ALCOA Principles in Data Integrity for Life Sciences

Data integrity is central to the safe development and manufacturing of every life-science product on the marke...

5 min read

Navigating ISO 13485: 8 Key Clauses for Medical Device QMS Excellence

Navigating the complexities of ISO 13485:2016 can seem daunting, but understanding its requirements is crucial...

6 min read

Navigating the Transition from Paper to Digital QMS in Medical Devices

The case for ditching paper based QMS (Quality Management Systems) can seem like a no-brainer. But with choice...

4 min read

Understanding ICH Q10 Pharmaceutical Quality System Guidelines

In 2008, the ICH Q10 Pharmaceutical Quality System (PQS) guidelines introduced a comprehensive model for an ef...

5 min read

Comparing eQMS Solutions: Qualio Vs Cognidox

Cognidox and Qualio are both digital quality management systems (QMS) with a focus on the life science and med...

4 min read

Design verification and design validation for medical device developers

In medical device development, two critical stages of the design process are often confused: design verificati...

6 min read

MDSAP 101: An Introduction to the Medical Device Single Audit Programme

What if you could gain approval to sell your medical devices anywhere in the world, by completing a single, re...

3 min read

What’s the Cost of Quality? Can it really be free?

What’s the cost of quality? Can it, like QM guru Philip Crosby argued, really be free? Like most things in bus...

4 min read

Equipment Validation in Life Sciences: A Comprehensive Guide

Controlling and documenting IQ, OQ and PQ effectively is a complex and time-consuming process for life science...

5 min read