Speakers | Kisaco Research

Speakers

The Pharma & Biotech Patent Litigation Summit, Europe
20-22 January, 2025
Amsterdam, Beurs Van Berlage Centre

Read What Our Speakers Had To Say About The Event

  • Author:

    Agathe Michel-De-Cazotte

    Partner
    Carpmaels & Ransford
    ... read more

    Agathe Michel-De-Cazotte

    Partner
    Carpmaels & Ransford

  • Author:

    Andras Kupecz

    Honourable Judge
    UPC Munich Central Division
    ... read more

    Andras Kupecz

    Honourable Judge
    UPC Munich Central Division

  • Author:

    Andrew Hutchinson

    Partner
    Simmons & Simmons
    ... read more

    Andrew Hutchinson

    Partner
    Simmons & Simmons

  • Author:

    Beat Weibel

    Chief IP Counsel
    Siemens
    ... read more

    Beat Weibel

    Chief IP Counsel
    Siemens

  • Author:

    Beatriz Diaz de Escauriaza

    Head of IP Legal
    Insud Pharma
    ... read more

    Beatriz Diaz de Escauriaza

    Head of IP Legal
    Insud Pharma

  • Author:

    Carsten Richter

    Head of IP
    Euroimmun
    ... read more

    Carsten Richter

    Head of IP
    Euroimmun

  • Author:

    Cecile Teles

    Head of IP
    Zentiva

    Cecile 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.

    ... read more

    Cecile Teles

    Head of IP
    Zentiva

    Cecile 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.

  •

    Author:

    Christoph Rehfuess

    Head of IP
    Sotio
    ... read more

    Christoph Rehfuess

    Head of IP
    Sotio

  • Author:

    Christopher Sharp

    Partner
    Pinsent Masons
    ... read more

    Christopher Sharp

    Partner
    Pinsent Masons

  • Author:

    Clemens Heusch

    Head of Global Disputes and Resolution
    Nokia
    ... read more

    Clemens Heusch

    Head of Global Disputes and Resolution
    Nokia

  • Author:

    Conrad Eckhardt

    Vice President IP
    Biotronik

    Conrad 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.

    ... read more

    Conrad Eckhardt

    Vice President IP
    Biotronik

    Conrad 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.

  •

    Author:

    Edgar Brinkman

    Honourable Judge
    UPC Local Division Hague

    Mr. 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).

    ... read more

    Edgar Brinkman

    Honourable Judge
    UPC Local Division Hague

    Mr. 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).

  •

    Author:

    Eleanor Root

    Partner
    Bird & Bird
    ... read more

    Eleanor Root

    Partner
    Bird & Bird

  • Author:

    Emily Bottle

    Leadership Committee
    ChIPs
    ... read more

    Emily Bottle

    Leadership Committee
    ChIPs

  • Author:

    Filip De Corte

    Head of IP
    Syngenta

    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.

    ... read more

    Filip De Corte

    Head of IP
    Syngenta

    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.

  •

    Author:

    Filipe Pedro

    Director of IP
    BIAL
    ... read more

    Filipe Pedro

    Director of IP
    BIAL

  • Author:

    Frank Landolt

    Chief Counsel IP & Legal
    Confo Therapeutics

    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).

    ... read more

    Frank Landolt

    Chief Counsel IP & Legal
    Confo Therapeutics

    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).

  •

    Author:

    Gabriele Mohsler

    VP Patent Development
    Ericsson
    ... read more

    Gabriele Mohsler

    VP Patent Development
    Ericsson

  • Author:

    Gianluca Vassallo

    Case Handler, DG Competition
    European Commission
    ... read more

    Gianluca Vassallo

    Case Handler, DG Competition
    European Commission

  • Author:

    Guido Pontremoli

    Vice President Global IP
    Chiesi

    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.

    ... read more

    Guido Pontremoli

    Vice President Global IP
    Chiesi

    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.

  •

    Author:

    Heike Wollgast

    WIPO
    ... read more

    Heike Wollgast

    WIPO

  • Author:

    Ina Buerck

    Senior Counsel
    Amgen
    ... read more

    Ina Buerck

    Senior Counsel
    Amgen

  • Author:

    James Horgan

    Assistant General Counsel
    MSD
    ... read more

    James Horgan

    Assistant General Counsel
    MSD

  • Author:

    Jiri Slavik

    Director of IP
    Adalvo
    ... read more

    Jiri Slavik

    Director of IP
    Adalvo

  • Author:

    Juliane Buchinski

    Lead IP Litigation Counsel
    ZTE
    ... read more

    Juliane Buchinski

    Lead IP Litigation Counsel
    ZTE

  • Author:

    Karin Pramberger

    Head of IP
    Polpharma Group

    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. 

    ... read more

    Karin Pramberger

    Head of IP
    Polpharma Group

    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. 

  •

    Author:

    Katie Coltart

    Partner
    Linklaters
    ... read more

    Katie Coltart

    Partner
    Linklaters

  • Author:

    Kristin Cooklin

    Group Head IP Counsel
    Recordati
    ... read more

    Kristin Cooklin

    Group Head IP Counsel
    Recordati

  • Author:

    Laila Beynon

    AD- Dispute Resolution
    Regeneron

    Laila 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. 

    ... read more

    Laila Beynon

    AD- Dispute Resolution
    Regeneron

    Laila 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. 

  •

    Author:

    Margot Kokke

    Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
    UPC
    ... read more

    Margot Kokke

    Honourable Judge, Local Division Hague
    UPC

  • Author:

    Mathias Zigann, Honourable Judge, UPC- Munich

    Honourable Judge
    UPC- Munich
    ... read more

    Mathias Zigann, Honourable Judge, UPC- Munich

    Honourable Judge
    UPC- Munich

  • Author:

    Matthew O’Neill

    Director of European IP
    Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
    ... read more

    Matthew O’Neill

    Director of European IP
    Glenmark Pharmaceuticals

  • Author:

    Michael Swita

    Director of Intellectual Property Policy
    EFPIA
    ... read more

    Michael Swita

    Director of Intellectual Property Policy
    EFPIA

  • Author:

    Mirna Atallah

    Senior Director IP
    Astellas Europe
    ... read more

    Mirna Atallah

    Senior Director IP
    Astellas Europe

  • Author:

    Natalia Wright

    Assistant General Patent Counsel
    UCB
    ... read more

    Natalia Wright

    Assistant General Patent Counsel
    UCB

  • Author:

    Philippe Bessiere

    Global Head of Patents
    Pierre Fabre Group
    ... read more

    Philippe Bessiere

    Global Head of Patents
    Pierre Fabre Group

  • Author:

    Raquel Frisardi

    Senior Corporate Counsel
    Novo Nordisk
    ... read more

    Raquel Frisardi

    Senior Corporate Counsel
    Novo Nordisk

  • Author:

    Rob Rodrigues

    Partner
    RNA law
    ... read more

    Rob Rodrigues

    Partner
    RNA law

  • Author:

    Ronny Thomas

    Honourable Judge
    UPC Local Division, Dusseldorf
    ... read more

    Ronny Thomas

    Honourable Judge
    UPC Local Division, Dusseldorf

  • Author:

    Sara Burhart

    Senior Counsel- Patent Litigation
    BAT
    ... read more

    Sara Burhart

    Senior Counsel- Patent Litigation
    BAT

  • Author:

    Sean Alexander

    Head of IP Strategy
    Umicore

    Sean 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.

    ... read more

    Sean Alexander

    Head of IP Strategy
    Umicore

    Sean 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.

  •

    Author:

    Sergio Napolitano

    General Counsel
    Medicines for Europe
    ... read more

    Sergio Napolitano

    General Counsel
    Medicines for Europe

  • Author:

    Shohta Ueno

    Assistant General Counsel - Dispute Resolution
    Regeneron
    ... read more

    Shohta Ueno

    Assistant General Counsel - Dispute Resolution
    Regeneron

  • Author:

    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.

    ... read more

    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.

  •

    Author:

    Stefanie Kies

    Senior Director Intellectual Property
    Polpharma Biologics
    ... read more

    Stefanie Kies

    Senior Director Intellectual Property
    Polpharma Biologics

  • Author:

    Sufiyah Sulaiman

    Senior Patent Manager Patent Litigation
    STADA

    Sufiyah 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). 

    ... read more

    Sufiyah Sulaiman

    Senior Patent Manager Patent Litigation
    STADA

    Sufiyah 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). 

  •

    Author:

    Tess Waldron

    Leadership Committeee
    ChIPs
    ... read more

    Tess Waldron

    Leadership Committeee
    ChIPs

  • Author:

    Tjibbe Douma

    Partner, IP, Amsterdam
    Bird & Bird
    ... read more

    Tjibbe Douma

    Partner, IP, Amsterdam
    Bird & Bird

  • Author:

    Toni Santamaria

    Vice President Intellectual Property
    Adalvo

    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.

    ... read more

    Toni Santamaria

    Vice President Intellectual Property
    Adalvo

    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.