AdvaMed in Action: Legal, Compliance, and Regulatory in the Spotlight at The MedTech Conference 2025
Medtech is operating in one of the most complex legal and regulatory environments we’ve ever faced. Trade law, Data privacy, AI governance, enforcement priorities, agency authority, and mass tort litigation are no longer issues at the margins — they’re front and center in boardrooms and the c-suite. These are turbulent times, and turbulent times require savvy legal and compliance leadership. At the same time, AI and the pace of medtech innovation is accelerating, creating new questions that legal and compliance leaders must be prepared to answer.
That’s why The MedTech Conference, October 5–8, comes at such a critical moment. We’ll confront not just the risks but also the opportunities ahead — from navigating tariffs and trade law, to pushing for modernization of outdated regulations that hold medtech innovation back from the patient’s bedside. In San Diego, we’ll bring together regulators, in house medtech lawyers, compliance officers, and industry leaders who will chart the course to guide medtech forward.
And with three accredited CLE sessions in the legal track, attendees can strengthen their expertise while engaging directly with regulators, peers, and policymakers.
Q: What are the top priorities for legal professionals and compliance officers this year?
A: The short answer is leading through uncertainty and risk — but also seizing strategic opportunities. So many novel issues are reshaping how medtech companies operate, touching everything from product design and approval to supply chains, commercialization and global market access.
Staying current on these shifts is essential for legal professionals as true strategic partners to their companies. The Chief Compliance Officer Roundtable will be a centerpiece of these conversations, offering candid insight into how leaders are adapting programs in real time.
The broader regulatory environment is also shifting. Federal agencies that set policy in these areas have undergone significant change — and that may be an understatement. Recent Supreme Court precedent has reset the role of federal agencies, while states are becoming more active in areas once dominated by Washington. Add in shifting trade relationships, tariffs, and supply chain adjustments, and you have a fundamentally different legal landscape. That’s why coming together as an industry — and hearing from expert faculty — is so essential this year.
Q: What is The MedTech Conference, what’s new, and who attends?
A: The MedTech Conference is the must-attend global gathering for our industry. More than 3,500 leaders — from CEOs and investors to regulators, payers, patient advocates, and legal executives — come together in one place.
The conference is a chance not just for GCs or compliance officers, but for entire legal teams to gain perspective on the business of medtech and hear, in a single meeting, about every dimension impacting the industry.
It’s not just about legal education; it’s about engaging directly with the policymakers shaping federal, state and global policy and enforcement priorities, the executives navigating business risk, and innovators. And because every in house legal and compliance leader must be a strategic partner to the business, this event helps position you exactly that way.
You’ll also find the full c-suite of major medtech companies in attendance — not just CEOs and legal executives, but leaders across finance, R&D, commercial, and beyond. For compliance professionals, being in that mix is invaluable.
Q: What are the key themes of the legal & health care compliance best practices track this year?
A: This year’s program was developed in close collaboration with industry leaders to reflect the realities companies face every day. AdvaMed has shaped the sessions to deliver both practical strategies and forward-looking insight. Key themes include:
- Data Privacy & Stewardship — Proactive strategies to protect patient and device data while enabling innovation and AI adoption.
- Enforcement & Compliance Issues — Navigating evolving regulatory priorities that impact commercial practices and business operations.
- Litigation Risk & Mass Torts — Understanding the drivers of large-scale product liability lawsuits and how to mitigate exposure.
- Compliance Leadership — The C-suite role in aligning compliance with ethics, resilience, and sustainable growth.
- Innovation & Legal Guardrails — Balancing new technologies like AI and digital health with legal and ethical obligations.
Q: What makes this year’s discussions different?
A: What strikes me this year is how interconnected these issues have become. Privacy is not just about data — it’s about enabling AI responsibly. Enforcement is not just about rules — it’s about ensuring sustainable business models. Litigation risk is not just about the courtroom — it’s about design, development, and patient trust from day one.
That convergence raises the stakes. It also makes these conversations more valuable, because no single company can address them in isolation. That’s why gathering the full community together at MedTechCon is so important.
Q: What are you most excited about in 2025?
A: I’m most excited about the broader changes within AdvaMed. The addition of our digital health and imaging divisions has brought new exposure opportunities, fresh themes, and stronger engagement across the medtech spectrum. For the first time, attendees will see that growth on full display in San Diego.
I’m also proud that AdvaMed is now a standards-setting organization. The standards we’re advancing today will help shape the future of medtech — and that leadership will be front and center at #MTC25.
Q: What is the Medtech Campus and why should legal leaders prioritize it?
A: The Medtech Campus is where legal, compliance and policy come to life — a place to engage with peers, regulators, and companies setting strategic direction and shaping how the industry navigates risk and responsibility. It’s also where innovation on display! The Patient Pavilion spotlights the voices of patient groups, reminding us that every legal, compliance and policy decision ultimately comes back to patient impact. Nearby, the Tech in Motion Hub at the AdvaMed booth brings new technologies to life through interactive demos, sparking conversations about how innovation and regulation must move forward together.
And across the floor, on the CEOS Unplugged stage, you’ll find the leaders and experts driving our industry forward — from Abbott, Alcon, Boston Scientific, GE HealthCare, Insulet, Masimo, Medtronic, and ResMed, to legal and advisory partners at Cambridge VIP, DLA Piper, McKinsey & Company, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and more. Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Singapore, the UK and other international exhibitors bring a global perspective, creating opportunities to hear directly from leaders around the world.
I’d encourage you to stop by the AdvaMed booth to meet our legal team — we’d love to connect with your team and colleagues. And with thousands of attendees onsite, don’t forget you can leverage the partnering platform to schedule structured, strategic discussions with exactly the right people.
Q: What sessions and speakers are you most looking forward to?
A: I’m especially eager for the sessions that bring company leaders and legal experts directly into the room. Legal and compliance panels will feature voices from BD, B. Braun, Edwards Lifesciences, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Karl Storz, Stryker, and Zimmer Biomet — alongside experts from Duane Morris, Hogan Lovells, IQVIA, and King & Spalding. I’m also looking forward to Setting Standards for the Future, where Peter Weems, Vice President of Imaging Government Affairs & Policy Strategy at AdvaMed, will help lead a discussion on how we align around standards that guide compliance today while preparing for the technologies and regulatory challenges of tomorrow.
And don’t forget — three of these sessions also offer accredited CLE credits, giving legal professionals the rare opportunity to earn credit while hearing directly from peers, regulators, and industry leaders.
Q: Final thoughts — why attend?
A: This is where AdvaMed’s advocacy comes to life. Over the past year, we’ve advanced progress on multiple fronts — from strengthening FDA oversight and shaping international frameworks, to ensuring ethical business practices and addressing emerging risks like AI. In San Diego, we’ll continue that work in partnership with the full medtech community.
For executives, innovators, compliance leaders, and policymakers alike, this is the one place to anticipate risks, align strategies, and help set the standards that will define medtech’s future.
Christopher L. White
Esq., General Counsel & Chief Policy Officer, AdvaMed
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