AdvaMed Welcomes Progress for Medtech Patients at Summit of the Americas
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Advanced Medical Technology Association, AdvaMed, today welcomed several outcomes of the just-concluded IX Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles that should lead to more access for patients to life-saving, life-enhancing medical technology. AdvaMed members took part in summit sessions and convened discussions in conjunction with the summit to produce the most impact yet for medtech patients in the triennial summit since its 1994 launch. The summit theme this year was “building a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future.”
“When we think of health equity, we think of access to life-saving, life-enhancing medical technology for all patients,” said Scott Whitaker, AdvaMed president and CEO. “Good governance structures and practices that break down barriers and increase access to medtech for all patients are a welcome outcome of this great summit on behalf of the hundreds of millions of patients we serve in the Americas, every one of whom deserves access to the best health care possible.”
“The medtech sector ranges from the largest companies to the smallest startups,” said Christopher White, AdvaMed general counsel and chief privacy officer. “AdvaMed offers our Code of Ethics and other good governance materials. With the size and scope of this industry, it’s the company employees, the governing bodies, and the practitioners themselves who put our tools and resources into practice. The embrace of good governance principles by leaders across the Americas sets a positive outlook for strong ethical conduct and sound practices in the years ahead.”
“Even before its launch, our new coalition, which is focused on the convergence of good regulatory practices, coordinated the training of several thousand public and private sector representatives,” said Nacho Abia, chief executive officer of the Olympus Corporation of the Americas, chief operating officer of the Olympus Corporation, and an AdvaMed board member. “Good governance is a responsibility shared between government leaders, regulators and medtech manufacturers. With a strong coalition leading the way, our industry will realize many benefits. We will all speak the same language and help drive more efficient processes, thereby creating a more resilient medtech supply chain and more interoperable health systems while simultaneously reducing barriers to medtech trade and patient access to medical technologies.”
Key summit and related developments:
Launch of Inter-American Coalition for Regulatory Convergence in the Medtech Sector. In conjunction with the summit, Christopher White, Nacho Abia, Hector Orellana Brun of Medtronic, Sujata Dayal of Medline, and representatives of other member companies, including Abbott, B.Braun, J&J and Roche, joined the leaders of over a dozen medical technology bodies in the Americas to formally launch the Inter-American Coalition for Regulatory Convergence in the Medtech Sector.
The coalition is the first public-private partnership that extends across the Western Hemisphere, focused on achieving medical device regulatory convergence and implementing foundational good regulatory practices. These measures are essential for patients to access the innovative medical technologies they need. The coalition is also the central implementing mechanism for the USAID-ANSI-AdvaMed COVID-19 Medical Device Regulatory Convergence (MDRC) project, which met alongside the coalition launch, convening senior government authorities from the United States, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.
Launch of AdvaMed’s updated Code of Ethics in Spanish and Portuguese. During the first-ever Joint Session of the Inter-American Medtech Coalitions for Business Ethics (launched at the last summit in 2018) and Regulatory Convergence (newly launched), Christopher White joined the U.S. Department of Commerce (Ian Saunders) and Brazil’s Comptroller General of the Union (Lorena Brito da Justa Croitor) to launch AdvaMed’s new Code of Ethics and Best Practice Guidance on Value-Based Arrangements in Spanish and Portuguese. This will help ensure that companies operating in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries have the benefit of AdvaMed’s expertise and guidance on best practices to ensure conflict of interest avoidance and other good governance conventions putting patients first.
Launch of additional policy declarations and commitments helpful to medtech patients. Several announcements from the U.S. government will be helpful to medtech companies and patients:
The first Western Hemispheric Declaration on Good Regulatory Practices, signed by 14 countries.
The Americas RISE for Health + Economy and Health Dialogue of the Americas (EHA). Several important political commitments around health and democratic governance, including an Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas; an Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance including important considerations in working with the private sector to strengthen anti-corruption efforts in the Americas; and the Americas Business Dialogue Policy Recommendations for the Summit of the Americas, prioritizing good regulatory practices, procurement modernization and integrity mechanisms, which AdvaMed helped shape.
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About AdvaMed AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures, and more effective treatments. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. For more information, visit www.advamed.org.