Changing the Rules Again: The MedTech Europe Code & Third-Party Educational Support

Although the new code of conduct for member medical device and in-vitro diagnostic companies operating in the European marketplace has come into force the first day of this year, a grace period has been granted before new principles become effective. This article reviews the changes medical device and in-vitro diagnostic companies should consider implementing to adhere to the new principles for third-party educational support set forth by the MedTech Europe Code.

MedTech Europe Code of Ethical Business (“Code”) will become effective on January 1, 2018. Now with only seven months left in the Transition Period, it is a good time to examine how medical device and in-vitro diagnostic companies have been preparing. While most the standards and requirements are not new to Member Companies (“Companies”), the Code introduces several updates, which include:

• a ‘fifth principle’ of holding image and perception of the industry in high regard,
• new chapters with consolidated definition of events and demonstration products, and
• changes around the support of third-party educational conferences, which will be the focus of this article.

Although the constant need to adapt to regulatory change is nothing new to those operating within the compliance space, many would agree that transitioning everyday business operations to comply with new requirements is easier said than done. This article will summarize the key changes the Code requires around educational conference support and provide some insights and considerations for in-house ethics and compliance functions.