The 2025 Agenda Is Currently Being Built
Our conference programmes feature the latest insights from the industry’s top companies and key thoughts-leaders, tackling the most pertinent issues and trends in the industry.
With three stages of content, you’ll be able to tailor your perfect agenda to meet your specific business needs – allowing you & your team to gain the tangible intel you need to fast-track your product development over the next 12 months.
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Read What Our Speakers Had To Say About The Event
A great event, very well attended and with some thought-provoking panel discussions.
Excellent event, interesting topics, great speakers and participants. Good for catching up with peers.
The topics were very interesting and pertinent, so it was an excellent opportunity to see what is happening in several different areas of IP. It was also great for the quality of the speakers and excellent to meet people from other companies and law firms.
Great event for networking and to become updated on the hot topics in the Pharma IP.
I believe it is the most interesting and useful conference for both lawyers and patent attorneys in the pharmaceutical industry.
This has rapidly become the must go to event for pharma patent litigation. Not to be missed.
This was a thrilling event bringing together IP experts from originators, generics/biosimiars and judges into exciting panel discussions on the most immanent topics in Pharma/Biotech patent litigation.
Institutional Speakers
Andras Kupecz
Honourable Judge
UPC Munich Central Division
Andras Kupecz
Honourable Judge
UPC Munich Central Division
Edger Brinkman
Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
UPC
Edger Brinkman
Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
UPC
Gianluca Vassallo
Case Handler, DG Competition
European Commission
Gianluca Vassallo
Case Handler, DG Competition
European Commission
Chiara Accornero
Legal Officer- IP Disputes Section
WIPO
Chiara Accornero
Legal Officer- IP Disputes Section
WIPO
Margot Kokke
Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
UPC
Margot Kokke
Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
UPC
Michael Swita
Director of Intellectual Property Policy
EFPIA
Michael Swita
Director of Intellectual Property Policy
EFPIA
Rainer Friedrich
Director of Global IP and Biotech Technical Judge
CSL Behring and the UPC
Rainer Friedrich
Director of Global IP and Biotech Technical Judge
CSL Behring and the UPC
Ronny Thomas
Honourable Judge
UPC Local Division, Dusseldorf
Ronny Thomas
Honourable Judge
UPC Local Division, Dusseldorf
Sergio Napolitano
General Counsel
Medicines for Europe
Sergio Napolitano
General Counsel
Medicines for Europe
Stefan Luginbuehl
Head of Department European Legal Affairs
European Patent Office (EPO)
Stefan Luginbuehl
Head of Department European Legal Affairs
European Patent Office (EPO)
Stefan Luginbuehl, PhD, lawyer, is Head of the Department European Legal Affairs (Dep 5222) at the European Patent Office where he is dealing with a wide range of patent law and patent litigation related subjects, with emphasis on the implementation of the EU unitary patent package into the existing European patent system.
He participated in several Diplomatic and Intergovernmental Conferences on the reform of the European patent system and the international litigation system. He is a lecturer in different universities and is the author and editor of several books and articles on patent procedure and patent litigation in Europe and China.
Peter Thomsen
President
EPI
Peter Thomsen
President
EPI
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Agathe Michel-De-Cazotte
PartnerCarpmaels & Ransford -
Andras Kupecz
Honourable JudgeUPC Munich Central Division -
Andrew Hutchinson
PartnerSimmons & Simmons -
Beat Weibel
Chief IP CounselSiemens -
Beatriz Diaz de Escauriaza
Head of IP LegalInsud Pharma -
Carsten Richter
Head of IPEuroimmun -
Cecile Teles
Head of IPZentivaCecile is Head Patent Attorney at Zentiva. She has over a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Cecile is uniquely experienced and knowledgeable in the pharma space as she has experience in-house at an elite innovator company (Sanofi), biologics (Merck Serono), and extensive generic experience she gained as Zentiva.
Cecile is an enthusiastic manager of her team and was a key member of the IP team in leading the transformation of Zentiva into an independent and competitive generic company after divestment from Sanofi.
Cecile is a qualified European Patent Attorney. She also holds a certificate from CEIPI in patent litigation and most recently completed her diploma as a Master of Laws in France.
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Christoph Rehfuess
Head of IPSotio -
Christopher Sharp
PartnerPinsent Masons -
Clemens Heusch
Head of Global Disputes and ResolutionNokia -
Conrad Eckhardt
Vice President IPBiotronikConrad practices in the IP field for more than 20 years and gained experience across various industries. Having started with Consumer Products at Procter & Gamble he moved on to Pharmaceuticals at Boehringer Ingelheim and is now active in the medical device field, first as Chief IP Counsel at Leica Biosystems and currently as Chief IP Counsel at Biotronik. Conrad is a European Patent Attorney and a European Patent Litigator and has patent litigation experience in Germany, the USA and China.
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Edgar Brinkman
Honourable JudgeUPC Local Division HagueMr. Brinkman finished a chemistry degree in 1993, specialising in biochemistry, and law degree in 1995 at Utrecht University in The Netherlands. After joining the bar that same year as a solicitor/barrister in Amsterdam focusing on patents and regulatory affairs, he was appointed judge at the Court of The Hague, IP department in 2002. He became a senior judge in 2007. He has been involved in many patent and other IP cases and speaks regularly on international conferences. He is co-editor of a leading Dutch IP magazine (BIE).
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Eleanor Root
PartnerBird & Bird -
Emily Bottle
Leadership CommitteeChIPs -
Filip De Corte
Head of IPSyngentaFilip 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.
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Filipe Pedro
Director of IPBIAL -
Frank Landolt
Chief Counsel IP & LegalConfo TherapeuticsFrank 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). -
Gabriele Mohsler
VP Patent DevelopmentEricsson -
Gianluca Vassallo
Case Handler, DG CompetitionEuropean Commission -
Guido Pontremoli
Vice President Global IPChiesiCurrently 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.
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Heike Wollgast
WIPO -
Ina Bürck
Senior CounselAmgen -
James Horgan
Assistant General CounselMSD -
Jiri Slavik
Director of IPAdalvo -
Juliane Buchinski
Lead IP Litigation CounselZTE -
Karin Pramberger
Head of IPPolpharma GroupKarin 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.
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Katie Coltart
PartnerLinklaters -
Kristin Cooklin
Group Head IP CounselRecordati -
Laila Beynon
AD- Dispute ResolutionRegeneronLaila Beynon is Director, Dispute Resolution at Regeneron, responsible for the strategic co-ordination of ex-US patent litigation. She has a PhD in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, 10 years’ private practice experience in life sciences patent litigation at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, and prior to her role at Regeneron headed up the Patent Litigation team at BAT.
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Margot Kokke
Honourable Judge, Local Division HagueUPC -
Mathias Zigann, Honourable Judge, UPC- Munich
Honourable JudgeUPC- Munich -
Matthew O’Neill
Director of European IPGlenmark Pharmaceuticals -
Michael Swita
Director of Intellectual Property PolicyEFPIA -
Mirna Atallah
Senior Director IPAstellas Europe -
Natalia Wright
Assistant General Patent CounselUCB -
Philippe Bessiere
Global Head of PatentsPierre Fabre Group -
Raquel Frisardi
Senior Corporate CounselNovo Nordisk -
Rob Rodrigues
PartnerRNA law -
Ronny Thomas
Honourable JudgeUPC Local Division, Dusseldorf -
Sara Burghart
Senior Counsel- Patent LitigationBAT -
Sean Alexander
Head of IP StrategyUmicoreSean Alexander is a qualified European Patent Attorney as well as a Canadian and U.S. Patent Agent. He has worked in the IP field for many years and is currently the Head of IP Strategy (H&N) for Chr. Hansen in Denmark. Prior to joining Chr. Hansen, Sean headed the IP team at Elanco Inc. based in the Netherlands and was a Partner with Gowling WLG in Canada. Sean has been recognized as one of the world's leading IP strategists by IAM Magazine and is regularly praised for his pragmatic and commercially aware approach to IP.
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Sergio Napolitano
General CounselMedicines for Europe -
Shohta Ueno
Assistant General Counsel - Dispute ResolutionRegeneron -
Stefan Luginbuehl
Head of Department European Legal AffairsEuropean Patent Office (EPO)Stefan Luginbuehl, PhD, lawyer, is Head of the Department European Legal Affairs (Dep 5222) at the European Patent Office where he is dealing with a wide range of patent law and patent litigation related subjects, with emphasis on the implementation of the EU unitary patent package into the existing European patent system.
He participated in several Diplomatic and Intergovernmental Conferences on the reform of the European patent system and the international litigation system. He is a lecturer in different universities and is the author and editor of several books and articles on patent procedure and patent litigation in Europe and China.
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Stefanie Kies
Senior Director Intellectual PropertyPolpharma Biologics -
Sufiyah Sulaiman
Senior Patent Manager Patent LitigationSTADASufiyah Sulaiman is an attorney-at-law with a master’s degree in science. As an in-house patent litigation counsel of generic pharma giants, she has been managing their patent litigation and product launch-at-risk globally. At the moment, she is a senior manager (patent litigation) at STADA (Arzneimittel) AG, before that she was the Global IP litigation counsel for Sandoz (International GmbH) and, IP and regulatory litigation counsel for Mylan (now Viatris).
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Tess Waldron
Leadership CommitteeeChIPs -
Tjibbe Douma
Partner, IP, AmsterdamBird & Bird -
Toni Santamaria
Vice President Intellectual PropertyAdalvoToni 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.
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Andre Andrade
Vice President, Client Relations EMEA and Law Firms,RWS -
Arvid van Oorschot
PartnerVondstArvid is an IP-lawyer with over 20 years’ experience and partner of Vondst advocaten.
His main area of expertise is patent litigation. He works in various technical fields including MedTech, pharma and mechanical engineering. He works for instance on cases on antibodies and medical devices. He has a special interest in AI and legal tech.
He publishes and lectures regularly on the (international-) enforcement of IP rights and related issues.
Arvid is listed in various authoritative editorials including Chambers Europe and Global, Juve and IAM Patent 1000.
He is an active member of various professional associations including EPLAW and AIPPI.
Arvid studied at the Free University of Amsterdam and Northwestern Law School in Chicago. He was admitted to the bar in 2004.
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Aude Veinante
European Patent AttorneyLavoixAude assists her clients in defining their patent strategy. Aude drafts new patent applications and monitors grant procedures in France and abroad. Her work also includes conducting patentability, validity and freedom to operate studies as well as forming consultations relative to supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).
Aude performs audits in the pharmaceutical and life science fields and advises her clients in case of patent disputes.
Aude is a member of the AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property) and the GRAPI (Groupe Rhône-Alpes pour la protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle [Rhône-Alpes Group for the Protection of Intellectual Property]). She is also a lecturer at the Bordeaux National School of Biomolecule Technology.
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Bolko Ehlgen
PartnerLinklaters -
Camille Pecnard
PartnerLavoix -
Catherine Drew
PartnerPinsent Masons -
Corinna Sundermann
Senior Vice President Intellectual PropertyFresenius Kabi -
Daan De Lange
PartnerBrinkhof -
Denis Schertenleib
PartnerSchertenleib Avocats -
Douglas E. McCann, Principal, Fish & Richardson
PrincipalFish & Richardson -
Enzo Marasa
PartnerPortolano Cavallo -
Ewan Nettleton
Principal IP CounselNovartis -
Gaëlle Bourout
CounselLinklaters -
Gemma Barrett
PartnerA & O ShearmanGemma is an experienced and trusted advisor for some of the world’s leading life sciences and chemical companies. Her background in biochemistry means she specialises in complex technical disputes in the life sciences sector. She has more than fifteen years’ experience advising clients in patent litigation matters before the English Courts including securing preliminary injunctions. She is also experienced in advising on global cross-border litigation, and coordinating worldwide litigation, working closely with multi-disciplinary teams in the defence and enforcement of patent portfolios. She has developed innovative and successful strategies, often combining patent and regulatory law, to assist pharmaceutical companies in the enforcement of their rights.
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Georgia Roussou
Senior Legal CounselWin Media -
Heike Röder-Hitschke
CounselMaiwald -
Jason Raeburn
PartnerPaul Hastings -
Jenny Davies
PartnerGowlingJenny Davies is a life sciences and patent specialist with a Masters in Biochemistry from Oxford. She provides strategic advice to help clients protect and exploit their R&D investment in the life sciences sector, medical device sector and the chemical industry. Her work regularly entails negotiating agreements to support her clients' research, development, manufacture and commercialisation, and protect their markets through the enforcement of patents.
Jenny delivers business-focused solutions across her unique practice area spanning patents and dispute resolution, transactions ranging from strategic licensing to highly complex collaborations and regulatory matters. She advises clients in all aspects of patent enforcement, from technical analysis and global strategy to leading UK litigation and EPO oppositions.
Given the commercial and practical value of the assets Jenny protects, her approach combines precision and detail with a commercial mindset and sector-led solutions. Clients praise her "endless determination", "formidable intellect" and are "deeply impressed" with her "unusual capacity to think creatively".
Her work highlights include leading ground-breaking patent litigation up to the UK Court of Appeal to achieve a novel form of "Arrow declaration" for Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin and advising AstraZeneca across a range of high value and complex transactions: its collaboration with the University of Oxford (COVID-19 vaccine); two $6 billion oncology collaborations with Daiichi Sankyo; an $8.5 billion oncology deal with Merck; and a $300 million oncology deal with Genzyme (Caprelsa).
Jenny is a member of the BioIndustry Association's IP Advisory Committee, and SPC and exclusivities committee, and a regular speaker on patent litigation and strategy.
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John Cox
PartnerBarnes & ThornburgWith deep knowledge of issues facing the life sciences industry, John Cox counsels clients regarding their worldwide intellectual property rights and represents their patent interests when litigation arises, particularly regarding pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology matters. John takes his role in protecting these important assets of life science innovators very seriously while approaching each matter with enthusiasm.
Through his ability to communicate effectively and succinctly, John advises on, develops, and carries out global IP strategies for the benefit of innovative companies, his clients, who are focused on developing core assets that save and improve the lives of patients. John enjoys leveraging his unique ability to put together targeted and enduring teams for each matter – paying close attention to each person’s strengths and skillsets and how they fit with one another, alongside his highly specialized experience and thoughtful and responsive nature.
John is intimately familiar with the pharmaceutical industry, having dealt with patent and IP subject matter ranging from brain chemistry, the gastrointestinal system, drug delivery systems and treatments of rare diseases and cancer to medical diagnostic methods, the generation of biofuel using bacteria, and processes for manufacturing chemicals and pharmaceutical products. He also has almost two decades of experience in Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) cases, including pre-litigation investigations.John offers guidance from the first step of a matter through to resolution, including all aspects of litigation. He has extensive experience related to discovery and motion practice, as well as in developing offensive and defensive strategies. He is well versed in dealing with complex subject matter and technical witnesses, such as inventors and experts.
John adeptly helps clients navigate the crossroads of foreign business practices and the complexities of U.S. patent practice, having worked with foreign pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology companies throughout his career. -
Kassie Helm
PartnerDechert -
Lauren Baker
AssociateBarnes & Thornburg -
Manuel Neetz
Head of IP- Diagnostic ImagingSiemens Healthineers -
Marc Lauzeral
CounselSchertenleib Avocats -
Marco Stief
PartnerMaiwald -
Marie Hovel Hansen
Head of Legal Strategy & Operations, Trademarks and Global LitigationsNovonesis -
Martina Tyreus Hufnal
PrincipalFish & Richardson -
Mike Cottler
PartnerGemini -
Özge Atılgan Karakulak
PartnerGün + Partners -
Paul Ainsworth
DirectorSterne Kessler -
Pierre-Emmanuel Meynard
PartnerLavoix -
Rainer Friedrich
Director of Global IP and Biotech Technical JudgeCSL Behring and the UPC -
Robert Cerwinski
Managing PartnerGemini LawRob Cerwinski, managing partner, is a seasoned patent litigator and IP strategist with 20+ years of experience at premier U.S. law firms helping international clients launch biopharma products into the highly-competitive U.S. market. Mr. Cerwinski specializes in helping companies devise cost-effective strategies to navigate the complex and intertwined legal, regulatory and financial hurdles that can delay or prevent product launch. His successes in pre-litigation strategy and in the courtroom have driven the launch of 20+ biopharma products in the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Cerwinski holds a Master of Science Degree in molecular biology and has a deep understanding of the science, business and regulation of biopharma product development, manufacture and marketing. Mr. Cerwinski co-founded the industry-leading biosimilars practice at Goodwin Procter LLP and is a recognized global authority on biosimilars. He is Senior Editor of the leading legal treatise in the field, Guide to Biosimilars Litigation and Regulation in the U.S. (published by Thomson-Reuters) and founded Goodwin’s award-winning biosimilars blog, Big Molecule Watch and its companion blog, Big Molecule Watch China. Mr. Cerwinski was named an IAM Global Leader in Intellectual Property Law in 2021 and is ranked in the Gold Tier of the IAM Patent 1000.
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Robin Ellis
PartnerReddie&Grose -
Siddharth Kusumakar
PartnerPowell Gilbert