Contains a medicinal substance
The standard’s wording, as the sources below reproduce it:
“Indicates a medical device that contains or incorporates a medicinal substance.”
ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.4.7 · ISO 7000-3702
What it means for you
A drug is built into the device and acts alongside it — for example an antibiotic or heparin coating on a catheter, or a drug-eluting stent. The instructions for use name the substance, which matters if you are allergic to it.
Whether a device is right for you is a question for your pharmacist, nurse or doctor.
- What it looks like
- The rounded, point-down triangle with a small medicine container marked with a cross inside.
- Where you see it
- Drug-eluting stents and balloons, antibiotic-coated catheters and bone cement, heparin-coated lines, some dressings.
- Other names
- medicine in a triangle; drug-device combination; contains a drug
What it does not tell you
It does not name the medicinal substance or its dose, and it does not make the device a medicine you can use on its own.
More symbols in “A rounded triangle”
Sources
ISO 15223-1 is a paid standard, so the wording above is quoted as 3 publishers’ public documents reproduce it. Each was fetched and read on the date shown:
- Boston Scientific: Symbols Glossary — ISO 15223-1 5.4.7 “Contains a medicinal substance — Indicates a medical device that contains or incorporates a medicinal substance.” Checked 2026-09-28.
- NE Scientific: Master Symbol Glossary (CTF-100011 Rev 01) — Shows the mark for reference no. 5.4.7 (ISO 7000-3702) with the same description. Checked 2026-09-28.
- MedTech Europe: Use of Symbols to Indicate Compliance with the MDR, version 3.0 (November 2021) — Lists “Contains a medicinal substance (3702)” under MDR Annex I 23.2(e). Checked 2026-09-28.
Plain-language parts are in our own words; quotations are the sources’ wording.