Exhibitor Prospectus
Commercial Support Opportunities
Commercial Support Guidelines
Industry partners and organizations seeking opportunities for commercial support of Annual Meeting educational sessions and/or services should be aware of the following guidelines:
Guidelines for Organization and Conduct
The AAAAI is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and abides by ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support in the development of educational activities. The following guidelines will be strictly adhered to in the development and coordination of Annual Meeting sessions and services.
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Presentations must be free of commercial bias for or against any product. If a presentation is concerned with commercial products, it must present objective information about the products, based on scientific research generally accepted in the community.
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Presentations must give a balanced view of therapeutic options. Faculty use of generic trade names will contribute to this impartiality. If trade names are used, those of several companies should be used rather than only that of a single corporation.
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Presentation of new developments in pharmaceutical research is appropriate, as long as it is accompanied by a detailed outline that can confirm the objectivity of the presentation. This information must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis. Where available, abstracts and papers published in peer-reviewed medical journals should be cited in support of the information.
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Discussion of unlabeled or investigational uses of a commercial product requires disclosure to the audience that the product is not labeled for the use being discussed, or that the product is still investigational.
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No commercial promotional materials shall be displayed or distributed in the same room immediately before, during or after the educational activity. This includes samples of pharmaceutical products.
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Industry representatives or third party vendor representatives may attend the educational activity, but may not engage in sales activities while in the room where the activity takes place.
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Faculty members will be asked to disclose in writing any relationships they may have with organizations related to the content of their presentations and/or the organization providing commercial support for the educational session. The AAAAI will determine if such relationships constitute a conflict of interest and take appropriate steps to resolve the conflict: such steps may include the review of presentation materials to ensure absence of commercial bias or the elimination of certain faculty from certain programs. All information regarding faculty relationships will be distributed to the participants.
Working with Third Party Vendors
An industry partner may wish to designate an advertising firm, medical communications company, or other third party vendor to act on its behalf in coordinating aspects of their support of an AAAAI session or service. All such relationships must be approved in advance by the AAAAI and the nature of each relationship must be documented in writing through a three-party agreement between the AAAAI, the industry partner, and the third party vendor.
Industry partners who wish to utilize the services of a third party vendor should submit a request to do so in writing to the AAAAI executive office. Such a request should include:
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The name of the third party vendor;
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The name and contact information for the individual who will serve as the industry partner’s primary representative at the third party vendor;
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A detailed list of projects and tasks the industry partner would like the third party vendor to assume; and
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The proposed fee to be paid by the industry partner to the third party vendor for these services. Disclosure of the proposed fee is required by ACCME guidelines, which view such payments as commercial support of a CME activity.
If the third party vendor and the proposed projects are approved by the AAAAI, a three-party Letter of Agreement detailing the nature of the working relationship will be sent to all parties involved for signature. Only after this agreement has been signed will the third party vendor be allowed to assist the AAAAI in the promotional or organizational aspects of the session or service.
Recognition of Industry Partners—Commercial Support of Educational Sessions
Once commercial support has been confirmed for a particular session, recognition of the industry partner is accomplished in a number of ways. Acknowledgements are included in all promotional materials associated with the session, including a prominent listing in the Annual Meeting Preliminary and Final Programs. Acknowledgements are also included on room signs and all other materials related to the educational session.
The AAAAI receives significant support for Annual Meeting sessions through educational grants from industry partners. The grants are used to cover costs associated with the educational session, such as speaker honorarium/travel expenses, audio/visual equipment rental, catering and syllabus production. The grants also help offset the general operational expenses associated with the Annual Meeting. As such, it is the policy of the AAAAI that all such grants are offered as unrestricted educational grants. Any unused portion of the grant will be retained by the AAAAI.
In accordance with the Essentials and Standards of the ACCME, the AAAAI will not allow product-specific advertising to be associated with any educational session and(or) the promotional campaign for any educational session. Commercial support for educational programs will be recognized by the AAAAI through the use of the phrase, “Programmed by the AAAAI. Funded through an unrestricted educational grant from [Industry Partner’s Name],” on all promotional and conference materials.
Recognition of Industry Partners—Commercial Support of Meeting Services
Once commercial support has been confirmed for a particular service, recognition of the industry partner is accomplished in a number of ways. Because most meeting services support the Annual Meeting as a whole, and are not associated with any one particular educational session, the AAAAI typically allows the use of product-specific advertising in conjunction with them. In many cases, this product advertising can be printed directly on the piece itself (i.e., registration bags, pocket meeting guides, etc.).
However, since the AAAAI does not endorse specific products or suggest that one product is superior to another, it must remain at “arm’s length” from the product information of the commercial supporter in order to prevent an implied endorsement. Requests for product-specific logos and advertising in conjunction with the commercial support of a meeting service are therefore evaluated on a case-by-case basis and only approved in instances where the AAAAI feels an implied endorsement is unlikely.
The AAAAI receives significant support for Annual Meeting services through grants from industry partners. The grants are used not only to cover costs associated with the service, but also help offset the general operational expenses associated with the Annual Meeting. As such, it is the policy of the AAAAI that all such grants are offered as unrestricted grants. Any unused portion of the grant will be retained by the AAAAI.
For more information about the AAAAI Commercial Support Guidelines contact:
Krista Perkins
AAAAI Program Manager
Phone: (414) 272-6071
E-mail: kperkins@aaaai.org
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