Any conference attendee who has ever sipped espresso supplied by one drugmaker while checking email on a computer provided by a device manufacturer will know that industry funding plays a central role in offsetting the costs of major biomedical research meetings. But they might not realize that even the branding on hotel room key cards and conference shuttle buses now often contains pitches for drugs and medical devices.

As highlighted by an investigative report published last month by ProPublica and USA Today, physicians and academics are now bombarded by industry advertising almost everywhere they turn at scientific meetings—from water bottle wraps to exhibit hall carpet logos.

Nonprofit societies that host such conferences defend the practice as a necessary evil, citing the need to accept industry money to help reduce registration fees, subsidize continuing medical education courses and bolster support for disease advocacy.

“Corporate support helps offset the enormous costs of hosting the meeting,” says Matthew Bannister, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, which is headquartered in Dallas.

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