Exhibit Fees: Is a fee paid by a commercial interest to display and promote their products. Exhibit fees are separate and distinct from educational grants; they are not considered commercial support.
As an accredited provider of CME, Aspirus, Inc. is committed to providing the necessary oversight of its educational activities to meet the accreditation criteria, Standards for Commercial Support, and the CME mission. The following information provides guidance for staff, faculty, and joint providers planning conferences or other activities that may have exhibitors.
Arrangements for commercial exhibits or advertisements will not influence planning or interfere with the presentation, nor will they be a condition of the provision of commercial support for CME activities.
Product-promotion material or product-specific advertisement of any type is prohibited within CME activities. The juxtaposition of editorial and advertising material on the same products or subjects must be avoided. Staffed exhibits/presentations must be kept separate from CME (this includes printed or electronic advertisements). Print, advertisement, and promotional materials will not be included within the pages of the CME handouts. Live, face-to-face CME, advertisements and promotional materials will not be displayed or distributed in the educational space immediately before, during, or after a CME activity.
Aspirus, Inc. does not allow representatives of commercial interests to engage in sales or promotional activities while in the space provided for the CME activity. They may only engage with a participant in the exhibit space provided.
Invitation and Registration
After an activity is approved for CME credit and publicity materials are finalized, potential exhibitors are sent invitations to display. Potential exhibitors will not be given preferential treatment, such as discounted exhibits. The cost of the exhibit fee amount is set by Aspirus, and the exhibit fee is not negotiable once finalized. If an additional table is requested or required, the said requestor company will be charged an additional exhibit fee. Payment entitles two company representatives to display and participate in meal functions. If more than two company representatives attend at a given time, a predetermined rate for additional representatives will be imposed.
Exhibit fees
The company issued checks payable to Aspirus. To reserve an exhibit space at a conference, exhibitors are required to complete the Exhibitor Booth Agreement form. Late exhibitors will be accepted at the discretion of the CME Activity Director or Planning Committee based on the exhibitor submitting completed paperwork and fees in addition to space availability. The CME Activity Director or Planning Committee will work with confirmed exhibitors to verify payment schedule, confirm representatives attending, and explain any onsite procedures as well as answer questions. Companies failing to pay exhibit fees will not be permitted at any future Aspirus CME activity until that debt is paid, regardless of which representative or division within the company is responsible for the debt. A late fee of $200 will be charged for companies failing to pay one month past the activity dates.
Onsite
All exhibitors must check in at the registration desk prior to setting up exhibits. Aspirus will issue nametags to exhibitors. Representatives must wear the Aspirus issued nametag and remove any company name badge that promotes a product. All exhibitors will be assigned a table by the CME Activity Director or Planning Committee Member and tables will be labeled with table tents indicating the name of the company assigned. Exhibitor table design is dependent upon the space and accessibility of the conference rooms at the conference site. Exhibit set up time is 30 minutes prior to exhibit time. Setting up prior to the indicated exhibit time is cause for dismissal of the exhibitor from the conference. Aspirus does not guarantee a secure exhibit area. Representatives must continuously monitor their respective exhibits throughout the conference.
No samples of scheduled drugs are allowed in the exhibit area. Violation of this procedure is a certain cause for dismissal from the conference activity. Exhibitors may distribute educational materials from the assigned exhibit space and must follow the PhRMA Guidelines when exhibiting at an educational activity.
Aspirus does not allow promotional materials to be left in the area once the company representatives have taken down their exhibit. Exhibitors are responsible for taking all materials and boxes (including empty boxes) with them when they leave the activity. A disposal fee may be charged for any materials left at the activity site.
Aspirus CME Activity Directors or Planning Committee Members will address any disputes.
Note: Exhibit Booths are not allowed at Regularly Scheduled Series (RSS).