EIRA Conference 2025
The Eira Initiative, a project of the Berkeley Policy Institute, will hold its inaugural live event in Washington DC on October 16-17, 2025. Leading economists, legal academics, policymakers, and practitioners will assess the role played by intellectual property rights in driving innovation, entrepreneurship and investment in the U.S. biopharmaceutical ecosystem.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Event program
08:00-08:45 am
Breakfast and Registration
08:45-09:00 am
Opening Remarks
Bowman Heiden and Jonathan Barnett, Co-Directors, EIRA Initiative, BPI
09:00-10:30 am
Session I: Legal and Economic Fundamentals of Biopharmaceutical Innovation
Moderator/Commentator: Prof. Keith Hylton, Boston University
- Prof. William Comanor, UCLA, Pharmaceutical Innovation: A Normative Economic Analysis
- Prof. Jonathan Barnett, University of Southern California, “Back to Basics: First Principles in Intellectual Property Policy for the Life Sciences”
- Prof. Kristina Acri, Colorado College, The Economic Functions of Regulatory Exclusivities in Biopharmaceutical Innovation
10:30-11:00 am
Coffee/Networking Break
11:00-12:30 pm
Session II: Public Research and Private Commercialization in the Biomedical Ecosystem
Moderator/Commentator: Steve Susalka, CEO of AUTM
- Prof. Scott Kieff, George Washington University, Patents and the Emergence of the U.S. Biotech Ecosystem
- Prof. Henry Grabowski, Duke University, and Genia Long, Analysis Group, Can Prizes Replace Patents?: An Economic Assessment
- Prof. Maryann Feldman, Arizona State University, Cohen-Boyer Redux: Policy Lessons from 45 Years of Technology Transfer
12:45-01:30 pm
Lunch/Keynote Address: Andrei Iancu, Fmr. Under Secretary of Commerce, Intellectual Property of the United States; Fmr. Director, USPTO; Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell
01:30-03:00 pm
Session III: Getting the Evidence Right on IP, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Moderator/Commentator: Christine McDaniel, Senior Trade Economist, World Bank
- Prof. Margaret Kyle, MINES Paris Tech, Potential vs. Effective Exclusivity for Pharmaceuticals in the US and Europe
- Prof. Ted Sichleman, University of San Diego, Biomedical Startups and Patenting: 17 Years Since the Berkeley Patent Survey
03:00-03:30 pm
Coffee/Networking Break
03:30-05:00 pm
Session IV: “Evergreening” and Price Controls in Biopharmaceutical Policy
Moderator/Commentator: Prof. Emily Michiko Morris, University of Akron School of Law
- Prof. Erika Lietzan, University of Missouri, The Empirical Chasm of “Evergreening”
- Prof. Adam Mossoff, George Mason University, The Use and Abuse of the Bayh-Dole Act to Impose Price Controls on Drug Patents
- Prof. Chris Holman, University of Missouri, Government Involvement in Pharmaceutical Development Can Come Back to Haunt a Drug Company
08:00-09:00 am
Breakfast and Registration
09:00-10:15 am
Session I: IP Policy and Strategy in AI-Enabled Drug Development
Moderator/Commentator: Matthew Chervenak, President, Sunwater Institute and General Partner, Sunwater Capital.
- Prof. Ashish Arora and Prof. Sharon Belenzon, Duke University, AI-Driven Drug Discovery: Legal Challenges in Patentability and Inventorship
- Nikhil Pradhan, Foley & Lardner LLP, Biopharmaceutical IP Strategy in AI-Enabled Drug Discovery Models
10:15-10:45 am
Coffee/Networking Break
10:45-12:00
Session II: Patents, Biotech Innovation, and Startup Investment
Moderator/Commentator: Sharon Reiche, Assistant General Counsel, Pfizer
- Prof. Mark Schultz, University of Akron, How the Security of Patent Rights Impacts Investment in Tech Startups
- Prof. Samantha Zyontz, Boston University, IP Protection and Strategies for CRISPR DNA-Editing Research Tools
12:30-01:30 pm
Lunch/Fireside Chat
- Hon. Paul R. Michel, Fmr. Chief Judge, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
- David J Kappos, Fmr. Under Secretary of Commerce, Intellectual Property of the United States; Fmr. Director, USPTO; Partner, Cravath.
- Dr. Sujai Shivakumar, Director and Senior Fellow, Renewing American Innovation, CSIS
- Peter-Anthony Pappas, Director of Intellectual Property Policy, US Senate Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Intellectual Property)
Event speakers
