The tenth National Conference on Reducing Legal and Compliance Risks in the Sales and Marketing of Medical Devices will take place 27-28 April 2010 at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel in Chicago. The American Conference Institute, which is organizing the conference, today announced key highlights from this year’s program agenda.

Government insights into recent enforcement initiatives

Recent major government investigations have made it clear that the medical device industry remains under the microscope. Both civil and criminal charges have been invoked in several instances, with investigations often following the filing of a whistleblower suit. This event will feature a faculty of five leading government prosecutors including Kirk Ogrosky, deputy chief fraud section of the US Department of Justice. They will share their inside insights on what the government looks for and how to best situate your company.

Certification of compliance with the revised AdvaMed code

Following the recent major revisions to the AdvaMed code, companies have been focusing for the past year on adapting to the new requirements. A special panel, comprised of top compliance officers from four device companies, will address how they met the challenges that arose this year and share their compliance techniques and strategies.

FCPA considerations

As governments take a more global approach, device companies are currently at very high risk for potential FCPA violations. It is vital to be able to identify the potential challenges inherent in various international encounters and business decisions. A special focus session will guide companies to minimize these particular risks and demonstrate a culture of compliance.

Program director Alan Forrest remarked, “This program is the culmination of detailed discussion with senior individuals at top law firms, government agencies and medical device companies who are skilled at identifying compliance risks. Speakers will be coming from 13 major companies including Biomet, Covidien, GE Healthcare, Hospira, Medtronic, Siemens, and Synthes.”