The Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, spent over $358,000 to lobby the federal government in the third quarter of 2010, according to a Bloomberg Businessweek report.
AdvaMed's lobbying efforts targeted efforts in Congress to help patients sue medical device companies with personal injury lawsuits, according to the report. Currently, medical device companies are protected from patient lawsuits at the state level because federal regulators have the final decision on whether a device is safe and unsafe. AdvaMed supports overriding that rule.
AdvaMed also lobbied Congress and the FDA on the process for approving medical devices. For 30 years, the FDA has granted faster approval for devices that are similar to already-existing products than for "first-of-a-kind" devices. AdvaMed officials say a backlash against abuse of the review process could make it hard to get new devices on the market.
Read the Bloomberg Businessweek report on lobbying efforts.
Read more on medical devices:
-8 Ways to Limit Vendor Reps' Influence Over Surgery Center Surgeons
-Study: Lower Cost Generic Medical Devices Could Increase as Economic Pressures Grow
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AdvaMed's lobbying efforts targeted efforts in Congress to help patients sue medical device companies with personal injury lawsuits, according to the report. Currently, medical device companies are protected from patient lawsuits at the state level because federal regulators have the final decision on whether a device is safe and unsafe. AdvaMed supports overriding that rule.
AdvaMed also lobbied Congress and the FDA on the process for approving medical devices. For 30 years, the FDA has granted faster approval for devices that are similar to already-existing products than for "first-of-a-kind" devices. AdvaMed officials say a backlash against abuse of the review process could make it hard to get new devices on the market.
Read the Bloomberg Businessweek report on lobbying efforts.
Read more on medical devices:
-8 Ways to Limit Vendor Reps' Influence Over Surgery Center Surgeons
-Study: Lower Cost Generic Medical Devices Could Increase as Economic Pressures Grow
-10 Most-Read Center Supply Chain Features of 2010