EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENT
The Eira Conference 2026
The conference provides a unique opportunity to assemble policy-relevant research on the functions played by intellectual property rights, data rights, and other policy instruments on innovation, development, and financing incentives and structures in the biopharmaceutical and medical-device sector. Using economic concepts and empirical methods, contributors will deliver insights into the mix of intellectual property rights and other policy instruments that can sustain and enhance European and other regional biopharmaceutical ecosystems as well as the global market in financing and developing new drugs, medicines, and other therapies, and medical devices, to improve human well-being and quality of life. Contributors will also address the unique legal and policy issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence in drug discovery and development.
October 29-30, 2026
Draft program
08:30 – 09:00 | Breakfast & Registration
09:00 – 09:05 | Opening Remarks
Speaker: Jonathan Barnett (University of Southern California)
09:05 – 10:05 | Panel 1: Intellectual Property Rights and Biopharmaceutical Ecosystem Design
Commentator: Mark Schankerman (London School of Economics)
Ecosystem Definition and Detection in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Speakers: Katherine Rockett (Univ. of Essex) & Angelos Stenimachitis (Univ. of Essex & Compass Lexecon)
The Role of Intellectual Property Assets in Financing Innovation in Biopharmaceutical Firms Across Countries
Speaker: Christine McDaniel (World Bank)
10:05 – 10:25 | Morning Networking Break
10:25 – 11:55 | Panel 2: Evidence on Patent Term and Biopharmaceutical Innovation
Commentator: Margaret Kyle (Mines Paris – PSL, CEDP)
Patent Term Extensions through the EU Supplemental Patent Certificate Regime
Speaker: Satyaki Chakravarty (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
Patent Pendency and Innovation Outcomes in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sectors
Speaker: Gaetan de Rassenfosse (EPFL)
Heterogeneous Innovation Responses to Orphan Drug Regulation
Speakers: Simona Gamba (University of Milan) & Laura Magazzini (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies)
11:55 – 12:55 | Lunch
12:55 – 13:25 | Keynote Address
Keynote Speaker: Mark Schankerman (London School of Economics)
13:25 – 14:55 | Panel 3: Reinvigorating the European and Global Biopharmaceutical Ecosystem
Commentator: David Bosco (Univ. Aix-Marseille)
Beyond the Blockbuster: Intellectual Property and the Emerging Transformation of European Life Sciences
Speakers: Andrea Dugo (ECIPE) & Oscar Guinea (ECIPE)
IPRs, Tech Transfer, Coopetition and Sovereignty: Promoting Europe’s Health & Life Science Innovation in the Digital Age
Speaker: Timo Minssen (Univ. of Copenhagen, Law)
Fostering Higher Foreign Contributions to Pharma R&D Through Trade Deals, Deregulation and Aligning Incentives
Speakers: Alden Abbott (George Mason Univ., Mercatus Institute) & Satya Marar (George Mason Univ., Mercatus Institute)
14:55 – 15:15 | Afternoon Networking Break
15:15 – 16:45 | Panel 4: Evidence on Price Controls, Pricing Policy, and Biopharmaceutical Innovation
Commentator: TBD
Effects of European Price Control on U.S. Pharmaceutical Innovation
Speaker: Duane Schulthess (Vital Transformation)
Price Control Regimes and Pharmaceutical Innovation in Japan, Europe, and the United States
Speakers: Stephen Ezell (ITIF) & Sandra Barbosu (ITIF)
Intellectual property rights and value-based pricing
Speaker: Katharina Blankart (Bern University of Applied Sciences)
16:45 | End of Day 1 / Evening Reception
08:30 – 09:00 | Breakfast & Registration
09:00 – 09:05 | Opening Remarks
Speaker: Margaret Kyle (Mines Paris – PSL, CEDP)
09:05 – 10:05 | Panel 1: Intellectual Property Rights and Global Biopharmaceutical Markets
Commentator: Nikolaus Thumm (OECD)
Global Value Chains, Patent Protection, and Knowledge Diffusion in Pharmaceuticals
Speaker: Walter Park (American Univ.)
The Long Way to Innovation – India’s Biopharmaceutical Industry 2 Decades after WTO-TRIPs
Speaker: Chirantan Chatterjee (Univ. of Sussex) (Virtual Speaker)
10:05 – 11:35 | Panel 2: Insights from the Chinese and Emerging-Market Biopharmaceutical Ecosystems
Commentator: TBD
Regulatory Reform and Development of Pharmaceutical Industry in China
Speaker: Can Huang (Zhejiang University)
Chinese Industrial and Patent Policy in Pharmaceuticals
Speaker: Mark Cohen (Asia Society)
Intellectual Property and the Future of Biotech Innovation in China and Europe
Speakers: Dan Prud’homme (Florida Intl. Univ.) & Tao Bai (University of Queensland)
11:35 – 11:55 | Morning Networking Break
11:55 – 13:25 | Panel 3: Artificial Intelligence, Pandemics, and Biopharmaceutical Drug Development
Commentator: Jonathan Barnett (University of Southern California)
AI, Pharma and Exclusivity Rights: Opportunities and Pitfalls
Speaker: Sven J.R. Bostyn (Univ. of Copenhagen, Law)
Intellectual Property Protections for AI-Assisted Pharmaceutical Invention
Speakers: Laura Fe (Murgitroyd, Law) & Alice Norga
Do Health Outbreaks Fuel Innovations?
Speaker: Xixi Hu (University of British Columbia)
13:25 – 14:25 | Lunch
14:25 – 14:55 | Keynote Address
Keynote Speaker: Yann Ménière (European Patent Office / EPO)
14:55 – 15:40 | Fireside Chat
Discussants: Nicolas Petit (European University Institute), Kamil Kiljanski (European Commission) & Peter-Anthony Pappas (US ITC)(tbc)
Moderator: Bowman Heiden (Gothenburg University & UC Berkeley)
Event speakers
Alice Norga
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