MedTech2017 Annual Conference Speakers announced

MTAA is pleased to announce the following international high-profile speakers for the MedTech2017 Annual Conference on 1-2 November 2017.

• Dr Dora Hughes, Former Health Advisor to President Barack Obama
• Richie Etwaru. Chief Digital Officer at QuintilesIMS
  

Dr Dora Hughes will close the plenary on day one – Wednesday 1st November 2017.

Richie Etwaru will discuss the hot topic – blockchain on day 2 – Thursday 2nd November 2017.

MedTech2017 will bring together informed speakers to help you better add value in this complex and changing landscape.  A list of all our confirmed speakers is also available on our website.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact MTAA Events & Engagement Manager Jennifer Ellis at jellis@mtaa.org.au for your copy of the sponsorship prospectus.

Webinar on Restraint August 17

Employees are often your best asset; however, they present significant risks on exit. When they leave, your staff may try to take your customer lists, trade secrets, confidential information and intellectual property?

The webinar is a reminder of restraint basics and case examples to demonstrate how you can protect the business when employees move on. There will also be the opportunity for questions and follow up discussion with Caitilin Watson of Atkinson Vinden Lawyers.

Nominations for MedTech Awards

MTAA invites the Australian medical technology industry for nominations in the 2017 Kerrin Rennie Award for Excellence in Medical Technology & Outstanding Achievement Award.

The winners will be announced at the MTAA Conference Awards Dinner in Sydney on Wednesday 1 November 2017.

Closing deadline for nominations is Friday 25 August 2017.

2.2 Complying with the Code of Practice

MTAA is running a half day face-to-face training course on September 26th 2017 which is designed to provide an opportunity for participants to further develop their understanding of the Code of Practice. 

Some of the main topics that will be covered include:
- Advertising
- Interactions with healthcare professionals
- Administration of the Code
- Monitoring Activities
- Complaints, Sanctions and Appeal Procedures

 
This course is ideal for Medical technology industry employees who interact with healthcare professionals or consumers.  Participants should have completed the online module 2.1 Introduction to the Code of Practice.

MedTech in innovation push throughout Australia

The growing significance of innovation for business and industry was on show last week, following announcements by several states.

NSW

In NSW the Premier and Deputy Premier on Thursday unveiled a $35million investment for the establishment of the Sydney Startup Hub. With more than 40% of Australia’s start-ups already based in NSW, the new hub on York Street in the Sydney CBD seeks to bolster the technology ecosystem in the state with over 11 floors and the hope of accommodating upwards of 6500 new jobs.

QLD
This coincides with an announcement from Queensland where the CSIRO opened a Data61 office in Central Brisbane. Data61 seeks to seed new data-driven business innovations over the coming 15-20 years, including e-health, data for advanced medical technology as well as medical software platforms.  

The Queensland Government's flagship $420 million Advance Queensland initiative is also continuing to drive economic growth, create jobs and improve the lives of Queenslanders by backing cutting edge innovation projects. 

SA

The South Australian Government has witnessed Flinders University sign a MOU with Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to create an international Medical Devices Partnership Program (MDPP). The MDPP-Partnership 2025 aims to build additional research and development partnerships between Singapore and Australia, through the commercialisation of research among agencies, academic institutions and the private sector.  MTAA is on the Steering Panel that will drive the direction of this program and the first meeting is on 4 August.

VIC
From Melbourne, the Victorian Government released the 2017 State of the Sector Report into the economic impact of the medical technology and pharmaceuticals sector in that state. The Report cites that over 11% of the national MedTech industry is based in Victoria, with noticeable concentrations of innovation, manufacturing and R&D activity in the Melbourne CBD and the Monash University/Clayton precinct. Staff at MTAA member company Grey Innovation feature in the cover of the report.

NT

This week, the Central Australia Academic Health Science Centre in Alice Springs was given the official seal of approval by the National Health and Medical Research Council. The Central Australia Academic Health Science Centre is the first Aboriginal-led collaboration to achieve Federal Government recognition for leadership in health research and delivery of evidence-based health care.

Industry Briefing – Breast Device Registry

Previous debate on the safety of high-risk implantable breast devices (e.g. breast implants, breast tissue expanders and acellular dermal matrices) fueled the need for a national registry tracking device performance and patient well-being. The Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR) led by Monash University, an independent data steward, facilitates real time knowledge to identify possible trends and complications associated with breast devices and surgery. The result is the potential to significantly improve patient health outcomes – with currently over 300 surgeons and 17,000 patients from all states and territories contributing to the registry, and increasing daily.

Join ABDR project leads for an industry-specific update hosted by MTAA on the progress of the registry, combating conditions such as ALCL, reporting and collaboration with international breast implant registries.

Where:                MTAA Offices. Level 12, 54 Miller Street, North Sydney.
When:                  From 4:00pm to 5:30pm on Thursday 31 August 2017.
RSVP:                  To jellis@mtaa.org.au (MTAA Events Manager) by 17 August 2017.

TGA implements new arrangements of Medical Device Regulations

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced it is implementing new arrangements to simplify and improve the handling of complaints about the advertising of medical devices to the public.

 
This follows a number of reforms TGA has recently highlighted including:

• Substantial changes affecting TGA conformity assessment certificate and transfers
• Electronic signatures to replace 'wet ink' signatures
• ‘Standard Conditions’ appearing on ARTG certificates will be removed

MTAA continues to support and provide feedback to key recommendations of the Medicines and Medical Devices Regulations Review and the Therapeutic Goods Amendment Bill 2016.  Val Theisz, Director of Regulatory Affairs presented an Update on the Australian Regulatory Framework in April 2017 which is available to download.

Arthur Brandwood from MTAA Associate Member, Brandwood Biomedical recently wrote the following article "TGA Puts Custom Devices Under the Microscope" which shares valuable advice for medical device sponsors & manufacturers on what some of the reforms will mean for future applications.

Health Insurance Summit, 27 & 28 July 2017

MTAA CEO Ian Burgess has been invited to speak on Day 2 (28th July 2017) at the Health Insurance Summit in the Swissotel, Sydney.

Ian will be speaking on the topic "New technologies and their impact on the health insurance industry"

Healthcare Leaders Forum

Gathering senior leaders from across the public and private healthcare spectrum, the annual Healthcare Leaders Forum equips executives with the insights they need to adapt and succeed in a dynamic climate. 

Harness the latest insights and opportunities surrounding personalised healthcare, industry reform and innovation – delivered by and designed for the leading influencers in healthcare.

MTAA members receive an additional 10% off the registration pass. Simply enter the code MTAA10 on registering.