State Pharma Laws: Strict, Mandatory - and Increasing

Medical meeting planners who are still grappling with new revisions to the voluntary AdvaMed and PhRMA codes at the national level are also facing increasingly strict - and mandatory - regulations in a growing number of states.

In May, Vermont enacted legislation that makes it "unlawful for any manufacturer of a prescribed product or any wholesale distributor of medical devices, or any agent thereof, to offer or give any gift to a health care provider." Likewise, at press time the Iowa legislature was considering legislation with this provision: "A manufacturer or wholesaler, or a manufacturer's or wholesaler's agent, who participates in a state health care program shall not offer or give any gift to a health care practitioner."

Both states would allow educational gifts such as product samples and journal subscriptions, but would require health-care professionals to disclose items of a certain value to specific state agencies. And both states are framing their measures as attempts to contain health-care costs and limit the influence of marketing by drug and medical-device companies.

The Vermont and Iowa proposals would join similar laws in the works or already on the books in California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. Indeed, state regulations are coming so fast that the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA) has created a members-only application on its Web site (www.hcea.org) to track them all: the Healthcare Exhibitors' Matrix of State Laws and Regulations.

"There were so many of these state laws coming online, and they varied so much," said HCEA Executive Vice President Eric Allen. "To help our members who are trying to market and exhibit at these conventions, we've provided this matrix so they can glance at it and get a sense of what the provisions of each state law are."

Some states have "simply codified the PhRMA code into their state law," Allen said. "They said, ‘We realize it's a voluntary code. We're going to make it state law now.'" But others have gone further. Last year, for example, Washington, D.C., passed the Safe Rx law, which "was going to require that any health-care company representative that was going to be calling on health-care professionals had to register with the District of Columbia," Allen said. "That was going to have a profound effect on any company that's going to be exhibiting at the convention center." Eventually, Allen said, various meeting organizations got D.C. to grant an exemption for pharmaceutical and medical-device reps who were only in town to participate in a convention.

"The problem is that these states are trying to impose an outright limit, ban, or reporting requirement on any spending by the health-care industry on health-care professionals," Allen said. "This is all part of the movement having to do with the high cost of health care and the belief that health-care companies' marketing spending is driving up health-care costs."

HCEA doesn't have a specific position on the various state proposals moving through the pipeline, "because it is a complicated equation, and certainly no one wants anything inappropriate going on," Allen said. "I think the open question is whether routine marketing on the part of health-care companies to health-care professionals is really what's causing health-care costs to go up."

- Christopher Durso

Sky, Sea, and Earth Meet in New Vancouver Convention Centre

The expanded Vancouver Convention Centre opened on April 3 with a dazzling program, featuring performers from Underground Circus and Cirque Pacifique, a 32-foot-high marionette, and a dramatic drum roll by 100 local performers representing the city's diverse cultures, including American Indian, East Indian, Brazilian, Scottish, and African.

Tables overflowed with regional specialties, including wine from the Okanagan region, wild mushrooms, salmon, and apple sorbet topped with Merridale cider. There were fireworks, a choreographed helicopter flyby, and tugboats swirling around Vancouver's Coal Harbour in a "tugboat ballet."

But even a celebration on such a grand scale wasn't enough to draw attention away from the convention center itself - a 1.1.-million-square-foot building that manages, in the words of architect Mark Reddington, to be "big and muscular and open and lacy at the same time."

The center's exterior walls are made of ultra-clear glass - all the better to take in the facility's wraparound waterfront views. Its 55,000-square-foot ballroom, Canada's largest, looks out over the snow-capped North Shore Mountains. The interior walls are constructed of stacks of hemlock and Douglas-fir trees harvested from British Columbia.

During the opening celebration, Stockwell Day, Canada's minister of international trade and minister for the Asia-Pacific gateway, said the building challenged him to think up adjectives to describe it. He said: "You come up with articulate words like ‘wow!'"

Beauty aside, Day said, Vancouver is making a statement about the environment with the building. The expansion was built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standards, and includes a six-acre living roof landscaped with more than 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses, which attract songbirds and bees. The building's foundation serves as an artificial reef that provides new habitat for sea life. A water-conservation and -reuse system that reduces potable water use by 60 to 70 percent over typical convention centers and other features will allow the center to host zero-waste events.

Next year, billions of eyes will be on the convention center when it serves as the international media and broadcast center for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Speaking at the opening, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said: "The new Vancouver Convention Centre is an iconic, world-class facility that will bring thousands of new visitors to our province and inject billions into the economy." Indeed, according to Tourism Vancouver Chair Geoffrey Howes, the new center - which tripled the facility's existing space - already has $2 billion in business booked.

The opening was the center of a multi-day visit by more than 75 meeting planners from Canada, the United States, and Europe. The itinerary emphasized the city's walkability and abundance of good food, with visits to restaurants in the trendy Yaletown warehouse district, and meals and receptions at the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside, the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel, the Westin Bayshore, and the Westin Grand. The trip's planners also emphasized Vancouver's easy access to outdoor attractions by organizing such activities as bicycling along the city's seawall, hiking in Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, and tours by seaplane - known as "floatplanes" in Canada.

To learn more, visit www.vancouverconventioncentre.com.

- Barbara Palmer

Los Angeles Shows Off Its Bright New Face

The economy may be bleak, but not enough to dim L.A.'s luster. The city has a slew of new theaters, restaurants, hotels, and attractions to draw business - all of which were on display during a recent familiarization trip hosted by LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

A new hotel of note is the Rococo-meets-modern SLS in Beverly Hills. Designed by Philippe Starck, the 297-room SLS has 30,000 square feet of function space, and a chef - José Andrés - who is credited with bringing the Spanish tapas concept to the United States. Another new property is the sleek yet funky, 257-room Andaz West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. Once known as the "Riot Hyatt" due to its raucous rock-and-roll clientele, the fully renovated Andaz has 55,000 square feet of meeting space, including a ballroom with a stunning view of the city.

The Bat Cave from the '60s TV series "Batman" can be seen from a stunning development called Terranea Resort, opening this month. A 30-minute drive from L.A., the resort is situated on the magnificent Palos Verdes peninsula and has 400 guest rooms, suites, and bungalows. It also offers a spa, three pools, a nine-hole golf course, 60,000 square feet of indoor - and 75,000 square feet of outdoor - meeting space. "We've booked meetings with major associations, software companies, and law firms," said Ron Sandvig, the resort's director of sales.

One of the city's hottest destinations is The Kress, a 38,800-square-foot historic, renovated nightclub and dining destination. Originally a Kress department store when opened in 1934, the building also housed Frederick's of Hollywood for 59 years. The dazzling art-deco structure offers space to dine and dance. Its rooftop lounge is a celebrity magnet.
Downtown has a brand-new face with L.A. LIVE, a 27-acre entertainment, sports, and residential district. Dining options including The Farm of Beverly Hills, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, and Katsuya. Wolfgang Puck Catering is the complex's exclusive caterer. The landmark JW Marriott & Ritz-Carlton Hotel - scheduled to open next year - combines two hotels and residences, stands 54 stories high, and offers 1,001 guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of meeting space.

For unusual event venues, there's the Sports Museum of Los Angeles, the former AT&T building's top floors, Union Station, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Back Lot, where famous movie sets are available for events.

- Maureen Littlejohn

Indianapolis Steps Up to the Big Leagues

The architectural style of the red-brick Lucas Oil Stadium, which opened last August in downtown Indianapolis, could be described as "retro field house" - it bears a distinct resemblance to the iconic college sports stadiums built in the early part of the 20th century. Inside, however, the stadium is sleek and state-of-the-art. Its pitched roof is fully retractable, and a wall of windows opens up, allowing the Indianapolis Colts to play home games outside. And, at 183,000 square feet of exhibit space, the stadium still feels airy even with dozens of fire trucks parked inside - as they were in late April, when 28,000 attendees of the annual Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) were in town.

That knack for retaining the best aspects of tradition while charging full-tilt into the future is an Indianapolis specialty. The city's well-preserved historic downtown center is integrated into a plan that, a few blocks away, will double the size of the Indiana Convention Center. Combined with Lucas Oil Stadium, which will be attached, the facilities will offer 1.2 million square feet of space.

Also under construction is the JW Marriott Indianapolis complex, which will offer 1,626 total rooms in four different hotels, including more than 1,000 in a 34-story JW Marriott tower. When the convention center and hotel projects are completed in 2011, the city will move into the upper ranks of convention cities, with approximately 5,000 hotel rooms directly linked to the expanded center and stadium.

With a lower-than-average room rate, Indianapolis is a good value, noted Cory Chambers, director of sales and marketing for JW Marriott. And it has a full range of hotel options - including the Conrad Indianapolis, which last year was named to the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List, and is one of only three of the Hilton global luxury brand to be found in the United States.

Signs everywhere point to the fact that Indianapolis is a sports town, from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (home to the famed Indianapolis 500) to the NCAA Hall of Champions museum (the National Collegiate Athletic Association is headquartered in town). The recently remodeled Hall of Champions offers several newly developed meeting spaces, including one in a "Play" main gallery, where ice-breaking activities might include climbing into a downhill skiing simulator or shooting baskets.

But if the city is known for sports, "culture has caught up," said Chris Gahl, associate director of communications for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. The Indianapolis Museum of Art completed a $74-million expansion in 2005 that included new meeting spaces, and next year will open the nation's largest contemporary art park on its grounds. Meeting space is also available at the downtown Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, overlooking a sculpture-filled riverside park.

A blend of tradition and innovation also can be found in Indianapolis' varied cuisine. Options range from the St. Elmo Steak House, opened in 1902 and lined with photographs of those who have dined there, to the 17-table R bistro, where the chef uses only fresh ingredients and changes the menu every week.

To learn more, visit www.visitindy.com.

- Barbara Palmer