SANTIAGO, Chile – The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) issued the following press release following conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Ethics for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Forum in Santiago, Chile, on Sept. 10:

“AdvaMed commends APEC’s continued focus on the importance of high-standard business ethics for the medical technology sector, including ethical third-party intermediary relationships between companies and distributors, wholesalers, distribution or sales agents, and others,” said Christopher L. White, AdvaMed chief operating officer and general counsel. “We are delighted that this year’s forum included discussion of a forthcoming APEC publication on government strategies to further encourage ethical business conduct.”

The 2019 APEC Business Ethics for SMEs Forum – which convened leaders of over 250 public, private and civil society organizations, including 15 AdvaMed member companies – discussed innovative ways in which governments can incentivize enterprises to adhere to high-standard ethical business practices.

“These incentives vary and can include procurement or regulatory mechanisms that encourage adoption and adherence to high quality codes of ethics, and corporate commitment to compliance,” White said.

“Such government efforts can help support medtech companies’ development of robust compliance programs and foster an ecosystem where health care decisions are focused on the best interests of patients,” added AdvaMed Ethics & Health Care Compliance Board Committee Chairman Ken Reali, president and CEO of Clinical Innovations.

“AdvaMed also applauds launch at the APEC Forum of the Chile ADIMECH code of ethics, which means that every leading medical device industry association in the Americas now has a code,” White continued. “In addition, we commend Chile’s announcement of a consensus framework agreement at the Forum, to build on those already in place in eight other APEC member countries. Such agreements unite stakeholders to advance ethical practices at the economy-wide level,” White noted.

“The Forum also marked further progress on implementation of APEC’s Guidance for Ethical Third Party Intermediary Relationships in the Medical Device Sector, including release of a work plan to design a virtual portal that will support medical device companies and third-party enterprises,” said White.

Since 2010, AdvaMed has been honored to help advance the APEC Business Ethics for SMEs Initiative, extending high-standard codes to 31 medical technology associations across 19 economies in the APEC region. These associations collectively represent over 12,000 member enterprises, of which over 10,000 are identified as SMEs. The initiative is also supported by a capacity building platform with an expert team of over 60 members, led by AdvaMed, and advanced in partnership with our many partners, including the U.S. Department of Commerce.