May 13, 2024
Biocom California 2024 Emerging Technologies Fly-In Participants Met with Lawmakers and Key Regulators in Our Nation’s Capital

Biocom California hosted one of our annual federal signature events, our advocacy fly-in, from April 29 to May 1. The event takes a group of high-level executives in a specific category to Washington, D.C., to meet with federal agencies, Members of Congress, and congressional committees. This year the group was comprised of innovative medical device, artificial intelligence (AI) and diagnostic companies that advocated for policies impacting emerging technologies.
The event began with a welcome dinner, where participants had the opportunity to network and prepare for the upcoming meetings by sharing priorities and goals for the event. This year’s participants were CEOs and senior-level executives from small- to medium-sized companies throughout the world. We had representation from members in San Diego, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, as well as abroad in London and Sydney.
Day 2 was full of meetings with regulatory agencies that provided members the unique opportunity to have face time with some of the most senior officials that regulate our industry. Participants first met with Saif Khan, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Critical and Emerging Technologies, Department of Commerce, to discuss the White House’s Executive Order on AI and the use of AI by our industry. Next, the group met with Tamara Syrek-Jensen, Director of CMS’ Coverage and Analysis Group (CAG) and her team to learn about the different ways to receive coverage for devices and diagnostics and how to engage with CMS. Last but not least, participants met with Dr. Jeff Shuren, Director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) and his team to discuss many programs and initiatives important to our industry, including the Total Product Life Cycle Pilot (TAP), Home as a Health Care Hub, repurposing and health equity.

The third and final day brought participants to the halls of Congress, where they were met by staff of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee to discuss regulatory policy and the work of the committee to foster innovation. On the House of Representatives side, we were grateful to have intimate conversations with Congressman Kevin Mullin (Bay Area) about the growth of our industry, Congressman Ted Lieu (Los Angeles) about his work on AI policy and the senior staff of Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (San Diego) about home health diagnostics.
This was Biocom California’s eighth fly-in. Every year, our fly-ins focus on a specific sector of our industry to allow for targeted and productive conversations. Past fly-ins have included rare diseases, digital health, precision medicine, oncology, regenerative medicine, and energy and ag biotech. If you want to participate in future fly-ins or learn more about the program, please contact Biocom California’s Senior Director of Federal Policy and Government Affairs, Laure Clark.