To ensure and enhance patient and clinician access to innovative, reliable and effective medical technologies, it is often necessary for medical technology companies to engage third parties to assist with marketing, sales and distribution of medical technology.
These third parties, often referred to as distributors, may also include wholesalers, distribution or sales agents, marketing agents, brokers, commercial agents and independent sales representatives. These entities are sometimes simply called “third party sales and marketing intermediaries” as a collective, or “SMIs”.
It is essential that companies’ interactions with SMIs, as well as SMIs’ behaviour on a company’s behalf (including Third Party SMI interactions with health care professionals (HCPs) and governmental officials), meet all applicable legal and ethical principles that comply with standards equivalent to the MedTech Europe Code of Ethical Business Practice.
To support member companies in training and dealing with SMIs, MedTech Europe, in collaboration with AdvaMed and others, have developed specific guidance and tools.
