Medical devices conference to be held in Boston

August 04, 2011|By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff

The world’s largest medical-device trade group will bring its annual conference to Boston next year, the first time the event will be held outside of Washington, D.C.

AdvaMed 2012, a gathering of the American Medical Technology Association, could draw more than 2,500 people to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on Oct. 1-3, 2012, said Ray Briscuso, producer of the conference. If it meets that goal, it would be the largest conference ever for the association, known as AdvaMed.

It would also mark the first time Boston has hosted the annual conferences of the two major life-sciences industry groups in the same year. In addition to the AdvaMed event, the convention center is scheduled to play host to the 2012 annual convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, known as BIO, on June 18-21. The BIO conference, last held in Boston in 2007, is expected to attract as many as 20,000 people next year.

“This will be similar to BIO,’’ said Briscuso, who formerly worked for the biotech trade group and built up its annual conventions over more than a decade. “We have everyone from the industry to regulators to service providers. And we’ll have major growth potential when we come to Boston. There’s something special about having it outside Washington.’’

AdvaMed 2012 is expected to be formally announced this morning at a gathering in the EMC Club at Fenway Park.

The event, intended to drum up interest from the Massachusetts medical devices cluster, will include representatives of major players such as Covidien PLC and Boston Scientific Corp. as well as start-ups such as Semprus BioSciences and GI Dynamics Inc.

Covidien’s new chief executive, Jose E. Almeida, will host today’s event. He will be a member of the AdvaMed board of directors’ executive committee and chairman of next year’s conference. The organization is also expected to invite representatives of Boston’s teaching hospitals to Fenway today.

While AdvaMed has been around since the 1960s, representing makers of diagnostics, imaging devices, surgical tools, and other equipment, the organization’s annual conferences began only in 2006. This year’s event, Sept. 26-28 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, will feature a speech from former President George W. Bush. Between 1,900 and 2,000 people are expected to attend, Briscuso said.

Next year’s program has yet to be set. But it’s likely to highlight the challenges facing the medical device industry as federal regulators consider overhauling their review process and press hospitals and doctors to curb spending, said Kenneth Mendez, senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer for AdvaMed in Washington.

“Our focus is on helping our companies bring products to market and keep innovation going in the industry,’’ Mendez said.

He noted that medical device manufacturers are among the largest US exporters at a time when exports are helping to drive economic growth.

Robert Weisman can be reached at weisman@globe.com.