Christopher Delporte09.11.07
The Medical Device Industry Comes to Washington
AdvaMed Sits Down With MPO to Discuss Its Upcoming Event for Medical Device Professionals
Christopher Delporte, Group Editor
One sure sign that the medical device industry is in growth mode is the number of conferences, roundtables and meetings available to meet the varied, but often specific needs of those of us who toil in medtech’s many different offshoots. The meetings come from a number of different sources in an assortment of shapes and sizes.
For years, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), based in Washington, DC, has offered its annual meeting for members, as well as seminars through its Medical Technology Learning Institute, providing training in sales, legal and regulatory issues, reimbursement and international topics. But this year, from Oct. 1-3, the association is trying something new: AdvaMed 2007.
The event, to be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington—on Pennsylvania Ave. between the White House and the Capitol—will offer educational workshops, panel discussions and plenary sessions on key industry issues such as Medicare reimbursement, intellectual property, international market access, business development, corporate finance, public policy issues, 21st century healthcare and the value of medical technology.
Kenneth Mendez |
Program organizers are touting AdvaMed 2007 as a truly unique event as it combines coverage of many different types of events and topics under one roof.
To learn more, Medical Product Outsourcing recently sat down with Kenneth Mendez, AdvaMed’s senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer, to discuss the association’s goals for its inaugural event and what attendees can expect from their time in our nation’s capital.
Following are excerpts of that conversation:
Medical Product Outsourcing: How did the idea for AdvaMed 2007 come about?
Kenneth Mendez: The idea has been circulating and the association has talked about it for a while. We’ve been trying to take the organization to the next level. When I joined AdvaMed in February 2006, one of the initiatives we discussed was getting this event off the ground. One challenge was determining what kind of event it would be. We really wanted to make this conference the center of the universe for the medtech world—by industry, for industry.
Our board of trustees will be there along with our member companies and the focal point will be the industry. It will be an important destination for those who want to learn more about the opportunities and challenges we face. AdvaMed 2007 will also delve into the exciting developments within our businesses.
The conference and exhibition also will be a platform for the voice of our industry. Because 80% of our members are small emerging growth companies, we also wanted a forum that would create opportunities for partnership and access to capital.
MPO: An event of this scope is a bit of a departure for AdvaMed. It’s a little different than your other events.
KM: It’s not exactly a departure. We’re very good at representing the industry and building consensus. AdvaMed holds many seminars on a variety of topics, including reimbursement, technology and regulatory affairs, and legal issues. Our conference will also be co-located with the Global Harmonization Task Force on October 3-4. The GHTF is a voluntary group of representatives from national medical device regulatory authorities and the regulated industry. GHTF encourages convergence in regulatory practices related to ensuring the safety, effectiveness/performance and quality of medical devices, promoting technological innovation and facilitating international trade.
The AdvaMed 2007 conference is a chance to bring all of our resources to one place. All the elements were here and it was just a matter of pulling them all together. In this case, the whole truly will be greater than the sum of its parts.
MPO: What can attendees expect and what are some of your goals for the event?
KM: If you have any interest in the medical device industry, this is the event to attend. One of the reasons we’re hosting it here in Washington, DC is because this is where it all happens in terms of the regulations for the healthcare market. We have many prominent speakers. We’ve invited the major presidential candidates. In addition, former President George H.W. Bush and Rep. Anna Eshoo [D-CA] will be speaking at the conference. The US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and US Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez are also planning on participating in the event. AdvaMed 2007 will be exciting for anyone interested in the healthcare arena. Attendees will see the latest and greatest of medical technology that helps clinicians improve and save lives.
As far as goals, we have around 350 to 360 registrants. At this point, we’re ahead of what we were projecting. We’d love to see 500 to 600 people attending. AdvaMed 2007 is also well ahead of schedule with sponsorships and exhibit space. The number of applicants for panel sessions was over-subscribed. The key thing is that we have the attendance and that people enjoy the program and come back next year.
MPO: AdvaMed 2007 seems to be a combination of trade show, investor conference and education forum. What makes it different than other options available for medical device professionals?
KM: It’s a combination of these things. We do have a wide array of editorial, panel and partnering sessions, because the CEO of a startup company has different interests than the CEO of a large company. We have enough content to cover all interests. At the same time, the separate groups that don’t have the opportunity to meet can network face-to-face during our partnership sessions. Attendees can arrange meetings ahead of time with other companies and venture capitalists—almost like a dating service. That’s one of the things that I think is unique about AdvaMed 2007. There are investor conferences and editorial conferences, but no one does it in one place—no one has the entire industry behind their program like we do.
MPO: You mentioned former President Bush. What topics will he address?
KM: We know he has personally benefited from medical technology—having two artificial hips—so we expect that he’ll discuss how medical technology has improved his life and the lives of others.
MPO: Many of our readers are contract manufacturers and suppliers to the medical device industry. How will the event be geared toward their need as well?
KM: There certainly will be some decision-makers attending from some of our startup to midsize members. These smaller companies may have an innovative product but have questions about how to bring it to market and get it manufactured. And this event is where we hope they will find some of those solutions.
AdvaMed 2007 also has a track dedicated to emerging growth company issues—and to the extent that contract manufacturers get involved with emerging companies, there’s an opportunity there. But perhaps the biggest benefits people recognize are all the conversations that happen outside the meetings and networking opportunities. It’s a chance to have everyone here in one place. I can’t think of a better place for contract manufacturers to be for excellent networking opportunities. v