Sixth Annual Florida Medical Device Symposium Highlighting America's 2nd Largest Medical Device Cluster

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Florida Medical Manufacturers Consortium (FMMC) today announced that U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen (R-Minnesota) will be the keynote speaker at the 6th Annual Florida Medical Device Symposium on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Congressman Paulsen represents Minnesota's Third Congressional District – the western suburbs of Minneapolis.  As co-chair of the House Medical Technology Caucus, he is a leading advocate in Congress for the medical technology industry, the life-saving technologies it provides to patients, and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports.  Paulsen is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction over health care, economic and trade policy and is the chief tax writing committee in the House.

"Congressman Paulsen is a tireless and skilled champion of the medical device industry and is leading the charge in Washington to modernize the FDA and repeal the federal medical device tax," said Geary Havran, FMMC Chairman, and President and CEO of NDH Medical, Inc.

Symposium attendees will hear from Mark Leahey, President and CEO of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA), who will provide a comprehensive update on key federal legislative and regulatory issues impacting the medical device industry.   The symposium will also feature industry panel discussions on topics such as Best Practices in Dealing with FDA Inspections; Risk Management; and Taking a Medical Device to Market.  Speakers from the FDA, vendor company exhibits, and networking receptions will round out the agenda.

The Florida Medical Device Symposium, hosted by the Florida Medical Manufacturers Consortium, will be held April 30-May 1, 2012 at the Hilton Carillon Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.  This two-day symposium is Florida's primary educational and networking event for medical technology companies, and has gained a reputation as the premier think-tank for creating solutions to strengthen and support the medical device industry in Florida.

Attending the Symposium will allow numerous opportunities to meet customers, suppliers and prospects.  As in years past, the symposium will provide excellent exposure and access to hundreds of medical device professionals and decision-makers over the two-day event. 

The Florida Medical Manufacturers Consortium (FMMC) is a statewide association of medical technology firms.  The FMMC exists to further the interests of Florida medical manufacturers by providing networking and education opportunities for industry members, facilitating connections with academic institutions, and promoting the interests of the industry to the general public and governmental organizations.  Florida is home to one of our nation's largest medical device economies – encompassing 470 device manufacturers (and hundreds more component manufacturers) employing more than 20,000 Floridians, paying an average annual wage of $55,500.  Florida ranks 2nd nationally in the number of FDA-registered medical device establishments.

SOURCE Florida Medical Device Symposium