Leslie Fischer is a Principal Patent Attorney at Sandoz, who focuses on global IP strategy for biosimilars. Before joining Sandoz, Leslie was a patent attorney at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she worked for over a decade developing global patent portfolios for biologicals. Before joining the Novartis group, Leslie was an associate at Fitzpatrick Cella (NY) (now Venable). Leslie holds a J.D. from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Thomas Jefferson University. Her scientific work appears in JCB, JBC, and Osteoarthritis & Cartilage. She speaks frequently at patent-related events and is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School.

Lorenz Kallenbach is a senior corporate patent counsel in the healthcare division of Merck KGaA. He is responsible for defining and executing the IP strategy for innovator projects. Including the assessment of the IP landscape, coordination of worldwide patent litigation, and portfolio development.

Before joining Merck, Lorenz worked in private practice. He is qualified as a German and European patent attorney.

Lorenz studied biochemistry and received a Ph.D. in the field of epigenetics.

Frank Landolt is Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Legal at Confo Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical start-up based in Ghent, Belgium specializing in GPCR-targeted therapeutics.

After studying chemistry and law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, Frank worked for almost ten years on pharmaceutical and biotechological patents and licensing in private practice in the Netherlands, where his clients included major pharmaceutical companies as well as some of the top biotech firms and research institutions in the Netherlands. 

Prior to joining Confo in 2018, Frank worked for fifteen years in Ablynx N.V. (now a wholly owned Sanofi company), where he was a member of the management team and headed an integrated IP and legal group of four lawyers and five patent professionals. At Ablynx, Frank was involved in negotiating Ablynx’s strategic partnerships and licensing deals with AbbVie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Wyeth. 

From 2000 to 2004, Frank was director of IP and legal counsel at Devgen N.V. (now part of Syngenta), another Ghent-based biotechnology company, where he was involved in negotiating Devgen’s strategic collaborations with Sumitomo, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.

Frank is a Dutch and European patent attorney, and also holds a degree in business law from the University of Antwerp. He is a member of the Dutch association of patent attorneys (where he is a tutor for the professional qualification course), EPI and LES Benelux (where he is involved in the LES Licensing Course). He is a regular speaker on a range of topics relating to IP and licensing in the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. Frank was named as one of Managing IP’s ‘Corporate IP stars’ for four years in a row (2015-2018).

Currently employed as global Head of the IP department-Patent at Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, managing and coaching a team of experienced patent attorneys, patent searchers and administrators, working on the protection, enforcement, litigation and/or opposition of the Chiesi IP, aligned with business decisions.

Before joining Chiesi, I worked in IP groups of big pharma companies (GSK Vaccine, and Bracco Imaging) as senior patent attorney responsible for all the IP aspects concerning some key R&D projects. I also had experience as patent counsel in private practices, dealing with pharma, chemical and bio entities.

Graduated in chemistry from the Univ of Milan, with a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a post-doc experience in USA, I am qualified EPA and chartered Italian patent attorney.

Toni has been leading the Intellectual Property team at Adalvo since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in different pharmaceutical companies where he has been involved in developing and implementing complex patent and data exclusivity litigation strategies for several generics and added value products, including leading parallel litigation cases in multiple European countries.   He also has experience in patent and trademark prosecution.

Toni qualified as European Patent Attorney in 2010 and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry.

Since March 2020, Julia has been the Global Head of IP for Sandoz. In her previous roles with Sandoz, she has had a leading role in the first wave of US biosimilars litigation, including the first litigations on critical aspects of the governing legislation (the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act or BPCIA), culminating in the landmark US Supreme Court decision, Sandoz v Amgen.

Since leaving private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Julia has been in-house counsel for many years including at Mayne Pharma and Hospira Inc before joining Sandoz in 2008. While there, she has taken on roles in European public affairs and led Sandoz’s global IP litigation function as Global Head of IP Litigation. Through those roles, she has maintained a keen interest in IP strategy and litigation worldwide, including cases arising under the Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA legislation in the US, PM(NOC) regulations in Canada and litigation arising from patent linkage systems around the world. 

Karin has been Intellectual Property Director at the Polpharma Group since April 2018. She is responsible for all patent and trade mark related activities. Prior to joining the Polpharma Group, Karin was Head of IP of Medichem, Spain, and worked in various positions within the patent department of Teva, Barr and Pliva.  She spent 7 years in a law firm in Vienna, Austria, where she became European and Austrian patent and trade mark attorney. She studied Biotechnology in Vienna, Austria, and at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chemie de Paris, France. In 2017 she graduated with an LLB from the University of London. Since 2005 she has been a tutor at CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, for the pre-exam and the C-part of the European Qualifying Exam. 

Filip De Corte is Head of Intellectual Property at Syngenta Crop Protection, leading patent attorneys based in Switzerland, the UK, the US, The Netherlands and China. Filip joined Syngenta on October 1, 2013. Until then, he held the position of Chief IP Counsel Europe at Cargill (2008 – 2013). Before joining Cargill in 2008, he worked in the Johnson & Johnson patent department, working in Beerse with Janssen Pharmaceutica (1991-2004), New Brunswick (2004-2007), and Brussels (2007-2008). Filip has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, he is a qualified European Patent Attorney and passed the US patent bar exam. He has the qualification of European Patent Litigation from the University of Strasbourg. He also has an MBA of the Vlerick School of Management.  Filip taught patent law in Antwerp under the auspices of CEIPI (Université de Strasbourg) as well as at the University of Leuven in the IPR management course and is a lecturer in the CEIPI patent litigation course.