Key Industry Expert Speakers

12th Market Access, Pricing & Reimbursement Global Congress 2025 Europe

Comprehensive Strategies and Embracing Innovations to Overcome Barriers in Patient Access

Tuesday 29th - Wednesday 30th April 2025

Previous 2024 Speakers (2025 Faculty of Speakers will be available Shortly)

David Alderson, Director, Cogentia
Ryotaro Ishikawa, Market Access Head Gene Therapies, Novartis Gene Therapies
Riad Dirani, VP of Global HEOR, Medical Operations & Excellence, Teva
Maarten Van Baelen, Executive Director, Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association
Matthias Heck, Sr Director, International TA Policy Strategy, Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Fabian Schmidt, Global Head, Market Access, HEOR & Policy, Recordati Rare Diseases
Josie Godfrey, Co-Founder and CEO, Realise Advocacy
Lindsay Birrell, Co- CEO, Realise Advocacy, Chair of trustees, Medics 4 Rare Diseases
Robert Mitchell-Thain, CEO, PBC Foundation
Alexander Bastian, VP, Value & Market Access, AM-Pharma
Kate Learoyd, Campaign Manager, National Society for Phenylketonuria
Saira A. Jan, VP, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield
Nicki K Catterick, Vice President, Global Value and Access Oncology, IPSEN
Eirini Palaka, Vice President, Global Value & Access, Rare Disease, IPSEN
Stefano Romanelli, Senior Government Affairs, EUCOPE
Matias Olsen, Senior Manager, Public Affairs & Policy, EUCOPE
Kirsty Hoyle, CEO, Metabolic Support UK
Simon Farrow, Global VP of Sales and Business Development, Lyfegen
Sandeep Kiri, Global Head of Health Economics and HTA Evidence, UCB
Hazel Dawson, Market Access Director, UK & Ireland, Alexion Pharma UK
Shaun Rowark, Associate Director for Data Access and Analysis, NICE
Francis Pang, SVP, Global Market Access & Geographic Expansion, Orchard Therapeutics
James Levine, President, Ipsen Foundation
Janek Hendrich, Value Strategies Lead - Oncology, AstraZeneca
Richard Macaulay, SVP, Global Pricing and Market Access, PRECISIONadvisors
And Much More...

Fabian Schmidt

Global Head, Market Access, HEOR & Policy

Recordati Rare Diseases

Fabian Schmidt

Global Head, Market Access, HEOR & Policy

Fabian is a Pharmaceutical Executive with more than 20 years of experience, with a particular focus on the Clinical Development, Health Technology Appraisals (HTA), Pricing and Access to innovative medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. He is the Global Head of Market Access, Health Economics and Outcomes Research and Policy at Recordati Rare Diseases (RRD). In his current role, both the strategic leadership in Pricing, Access and HTA as well as ensuring its execution on a country level has provided him with deep, hands-on experience in a vast array of worldwide markets. Together with affiliates, he works directly with the largest HTA/reimbursement authorities such as NICE, HAS/CEPS and GBA/GKV-SV or PBAC, but also in smaller and medium-sized countries. During his 8 years at RRD, Fabian helped enabling patient access to six innovative medicines across the globe. Prior to RRD, his career in the renowned consultancies Simon-Kucher and EY not only provided him with profound and broad expertise in pharmaceuticals’ pricing, access and HTA. Fabian is also EUCOPE’s deputy representative in the WHO Europe Working Group on Sustainability with the aim to help addressing the challenge of Sustainable Access to Novel Medicines.

Eirini Palaka

Vice President, Global Value & Access, Rare Disease

IPSEN

Eirini Palaka

Vice President, Global Value & Access, Rare Disease

Pharmaceutical industry leader in Commercial and Value & Access, at Global and Local level, with more than 12 years of experience in roles across Sales (specialty and primary care), Account Management, HEOR and Payer Evidence, Market Access and Pricing as well as Healthcare Policy, and a proven track record of successful global blockbuster drug launches with seamless patient access based on robust scientific evidence generation, in Oncology, Rare Disease, Neurology, Immunology and Cardio-Renal.

Nicki K Catterick

Vice President, Global Value and Access Oncology

IPSEN

Nicki K Catterick

Vice President, Global Value and Access Oncology

Over 23 years of experience working across healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry holding a variety of senior leadership positions in Pricing, Value and Access and Commercial, spanning numerous therapy areas including Neuroscience, Respiratory, Immunology and Oncology at both global and local level. With a passion to support and develop teams and people, Nicki is also a Certified and Accredited Personal and Business Coach.

Alexander Bastian

VP, Value & Market Access

AM-Pharma

Alexander Bastian

VP, Value & Market Access

Most recently Alex was Vice President at AM-Pharma, a private dutch biotech company that focused on rare, kidney and critical care diseases. Prior, Alex was Vice President of Value & Market Access at Galapagos NV, a Belgo-Dutch company and Incyte Corporation, an innovative biotechnology company focusing on oncology drug development. Alex previously also led a biotech strategy market access Consulting practice in San Francisco with Bridgehead International after having started his career with industry heavyweights Pfizer (NYC) and Amgen (Switzerland). Alex regularly speaks at conferences and has published papers, posters and abstracts on various pricing, access, and health economic themes, including: The Institute of Medicine National Cancer Policy Forum, The Institute of Medicine’s Health Care Services board, Regional Medicare Caucuses, US State Medical Society Meetings, The American Society of Hematology, ISPOR, the National Venture Capital Association, and The Association of Community Cancer Centers. He current sits on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research. Alex is also currently completing his doctorate in public health at Johns Hopkins University.

Stefano Romanelli

Senior Government Affairs

EUCOPE

Stefano Romanelli

Senior Government Affairs

Stefano works as Senior Government Affairs Manager for EUCOPE, the EU trade associations that represent small and mid-sized companies. He deals with EU policies that cover the EU Pharmaceutical Strategy, recently focussing on the revision of the pharmaceutical legislation and of the OMP Regulation. In addition, his experiences include rare diseases, non-communicable diseases, supply chains and medicine shortages.

Matias Olsen

Senior Manager, Public Affairs & Policy

EUCOPE

Matias Olsen

Senior Manager, Public Affairs & Policy

Matias Olsen is the Senior Manager, Public Affairs and Policy for the European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE). Matias supports EUCOPE on key topics, covering among others, implementation of EU HTA, advanced diagnostics, Real-World Evidence, the Patent Package, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and relevant market access topics. He coordinates members’ thematic working groups, including the P&R/Market Access Working Group, the Genomics Working Group and the EU HTA Regulation Task Force. Matias has previously advocated on behalf of European cancer patients and worked in the Norwegian Social Security Administration, with reimbursement of medical devices and coordination of social security within the EU/EEA

Lindsay Birrell

Co- CEO, Realise Advocacy, Chair of trustees

Medics 4 Rare Diseases

Lindsay Birrell

Co- CEO, Realise Advocacy, Chair of trustees

>Former CEO of Metabolic Support UK >Chair of trustees at Medics 4 Rare Diseases. >Former member NHS England Metabolic Clinical Reference Group >Patient Advocacy Group experience of UK routes to access >PPV rep on NHSEi Rare disease Advisory Group

Josie Godfrey

JG Zebra Consulting, Co-Founder and CEO

Realise Advocacy

Josie Godfrey

JG Zebra Consulting, Co-Founder and CEO

>Strategic Director, Project HERCULES >Director, JG Zebra Consulting >Former Associate Director, NICE (Highly Specialised Technologies and Topic Selection) >Former Head of Policy, NHS National Specialised Commissioning >International Policy and Patient Advocacy, Sobi

HIGIA VASSOLER

Associate Director - Pricing & Market Access

Red Nucleus

HIGIA VASSOLER

Associate Director - Pricing & Market Access

Passionate about bringing together the perspectives of multiple stakeholders to address key questions pertinent to pharma and biotech client's needs, and driving successful P&MA strategies for innovative therapies globally. Higia has several years’ experience in global P&MA, business intelligence and forecasting having delivered successful consulting projects across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, CNS, dermatology, respiratory and rare specialty indications. As an Associate Director at Red Nucleus, Higia has taken the lead on European-focused engagements including evidence generation, pricing strategy, and value communication strategy. Higia Vassoler holds a BSc Chemistry, MSc Drug Discovery and PGCert in Health Economics.

Esther Nzenza

Founder and CEO

Decisive Consulting Ltd.

Esther Nzenza

Founder and CEO

Esther Nzenza is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 24 years of experience across domestic, regional and international leadership roles. Esther has built and led teams supporting all Commercial Capabilities at an International level, in both Speciality and Rare disease. As the Founder and CEO of Decisive Consulting, Esther specialises in providing the capacity and capability to enable and empower companies at “decisive moments” of their evolution, with a particular focus on Market Access, Capability Development and Commercial Strategy. Blending technical understanding, lived experience and a global network of trusted advisers, Esther and her team can accelerate and focus plans for International commercialisation.

Riad Dirani

VP, Global HEOR, Medical Operations & Excellence

Teva

Riad Dirani

VP, Global HEOR, Medical Operations & Excellence

Riad Dirani, PhD, is currently the VP of Global Health Economic and Outcomes Research and Medical Operations & Excellence at Teva Pharmaceuticals. His responsibilities include overseeing the HEOR, Epidemiology, RWE, Medical Operations, and Medical Communications within Medical Affairs/R&D, and developing and expanding their strategic capabilities optimize the development and commercialization of Teva’s portfolio of products and offerings globally in innovative, generic, and biosimilar medicines. Riad has worked in the pharmaceutical industry since 2000, including positions of increasing responsibility at Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson in multiple therapeutic areas. Riad joined Teva in 2014 to build the HEOR group and establish its operating model. Riad received his Ph.D. in Health Services Research/Health Economics from The Pennsylvania State University.

Ryotaro Ishikawa

Global Market Access Director

Novartis

Ryotaro Ishikawa

Global Market Access Director

Ryotaro joined Novartis in 2006 as Brand Manager for Transplantation & Infectious disease in Latin America and rapidly went on to hold several positions of increasing responsibility within the CPO, notably as Specialty Franchise Head and Market Access Head. He then became Regional Pricing & Access Director for the LACan Region, and subsequently moved to Basel to work as Global Market Access Director, Respiratory, currently is the Gene Therapies Head of Access for central European cluster in Novartis. Before joining Novartis, Ryotaro practiced medicine, worked as a payor, to later move into sales in medical devices and renal therapy services. Moreover, he also served in the military with the Multinational Force and Observers - UN, an international peacekeeping force based in the Sinai peninsula. He is an MD, holds both a degree in Hospital Administration and a Master in Business Administration from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Intellectual Property. He has an extensive and unique experience in Commercial, Access, healthcare systems and payor environments,

Maarten Van Baelen

Executive Director

Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association

Maarten Van Baelen

Executive Director

Maarten is the Executive Director of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA). The PPTA is a dynamic trade association that represents a unique sector of the biologics and biotechnology industry. PPTA represents more than 1.100 human plasma collection centers in North America and Europe, as well as, the manufacturers of lifesaving plasma-derived medicines. PPTA’s mission is, as a trusted partner to health systems, to drive broad and reliable access to plasma protein therapies, with a focus on the well-being of patients and plasma donors. Prior to joining PPTA in 2019, Maarten worked as Market Access Director and Medical Affairs Manager at Medicines for Europe, the trade association representing the European generic, biosimilar and valued added pharmaceutical industries. In addition, during that time, Maarten was advisor to the Board of the European Medicines Verification Organization (EMVO). After graduating as a pharmacist from KU Leuven, Maarten spent several years working in medical affairs roles in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry, while also being a practicing pharmacist. Maarten also obtained an MBA from the Solvay Brussels School Economics & Management and the École des Ponts Business School in Paris

Matthias Heck

Attorney-at-law, Senior Director, International TA Policy Strategy

Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease

Matthias Heck

Attorney-at-law, Senior Director, International TA Policy Strategy

Matthias combines market access expertise from practical experience from funding negotiations across diverse EU markets, including AMNOG, as well as from leading engagement on framework conditions from a policy perspective at national and European levels. Next to company experience, Matthias’ experience includes serving as Head of Brussels office of the German Pharmaceutical Industry Association as well as Legal Counsel of the European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE). He has regularly written and spoken on life sciences topics. Matthias is a fully qualified lawyer (Cologne Bar) and holds a Masters in International Economic Relations and Diplomacy (Budapest / St. Gallen).

Robert Mitchell-Thain

CEO

PBC Foundation

Robert Mitchell-Thain

CEO

Robert Mitchell-Thain is a patient advocate of 18 years, with experience in a number of roles, including currently Patient Insights Director at the Global Liver Institute, Vice-Chair of Liver Patients International, the Patient Voice in NHS England’s Hepatobiliary and Pancreas CCG, and was recently leading patient-centred solutions as Head of Education and Development at PBC Foundation. Robert has experience in taking the patient experience and incorporating it into clinical guidelines, abstracts, and journal papers, as well as into every day practice. He has presented at EASL, AASLD and APASL liver-specific conferences. He has also presented to and on behalf of patients in USA, Canada, Israel, China, Japan, Israel, and all over Europe. Robert has led a PBC-specific interactive App which can record GDPR-compliant anonymised data, allowing the patient experience to directly influence industry partners and help them to address unmet need. Using the app data, he presented in poster and orally at a number of national and international scientific conferences. He is currently working with GLI to design and release an interactive patient-driven App that will cover multiple liver diseases, giving patients equitable access to information and the opportunity to be part of the solution in their particular liver disease.

Simon Farrow

Global VP of Sales and Business Development

Lyfegen

Simon Farrow

Global VP of Sales and Business Development

Simon Farrow is the Global VP of Sales and Business Development at Lyfegen, where he leads the global sales team. Known for his ability to introduce innovative products into traditional markets, Simon has a solid background in sales, having previously worked in telecommunications and cloud computing. In his current role at Lyfegen, Simon works closely with Global Pharma Companies, helping Market Access and Pricing teams develop strategies that optimize operations and enhance revenue growth. His previous positions at companies like Vamstar and Epsilon Telecommunications have honed his skills in product expansion and sales strategy improvement. Simon holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Canterbury Christ Church University, which supports his capability in managing complex agreements and understanding market dynamics. Under his guidance, Lyfegen continues to be a leader in providing comprehensive pricing agreements for drugs and medical devices, essential for today’s healthcare challenges.

HAZEL DAWSON

Market Access Director UK & Ireland

Alexion Pharma UK

HAZEL DAWSON

Market Access Director UK & Ireland

Coming Soon!

SANDEEP KIRI

Global Head of Health Economics and HTA Evidence

UCB

SANDEEP KIRI

Global Head of Health Economics and HTA Evidence

Coming Soon!

Professor James LEVINE MD PhD

President

Fondation Ipsen

Professor James LEVINE MD PhD

President

Dr. Levine has three decades of experience in the healthcare sector at Mayo Clinic. For the last 5 years he has been President of Fondation Ipsen, an international science foundation focused on Rare Disease innovation. With a background in wearable technologies, data gathering and data analytics, and with more than 100 patents and trademarks, Levine helped found 35 companies (17 to Series A and 1 IPO). He was the Innovator of the Year in the state of Minnesota, the World Trade Fair and NASA. Under the Mayo Clinic NEAT Trademarks Levine’s team delivered scalable health solutions to 72 US corporations. A great deal of James’ work focuses on biotech development, scalable health solutions and business opportunities in underserved countries. The UNESCO World Report on Science which he sponsored in his current role, facilitated business development (without personal gain) in underserved regions in the United States, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d’Ivoire, Afghanistan, Jamaica, Asia, Kenya and India. Consulting to four USA Presidents, the State Department, US Army and internationally, Levine in 2018 was awarded the President’s Medal for promoting social embeddedness. A physician and scientist, Levine has published more than 200 articles, six papers in Science and Nature plus articles in journals such as, the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and JAMA. He has written four books published in 19 languages in 37 countries. 300 million people live with rare diseases without effective cures. Sustainable solutions require the efficient use of capital to maximize impact and minimize suffering.

Janek Hendrich

Value Strategies Lead - Oncology

AstraZeneca

Janek Hendrich

Value Strategies Lead - Oncology

Janek has a background in neuroscience research and has been working in the pharmaceutical industry since 2019. He works at AstraZeneca with experience at both market and Global level, and is currently a lead on value strategies within the oncology portfolio. Please feel free to edit as needed.

KIRSTY HOYLE

CEO

Metabolic Support UK

KIRSTY HOYLE

CEO

I am an experienced charity leader and change-maker who joined Metabolic Support UK from my former role as CEO of Transport for All, a charity that campaigns for the rights of disabled and older people in the UK to access public transport. My background is working with both the public and private sectors to achieve positive, sustained change and to promote the links between better services, well-being and community integration and I've also worked for Sense, Diabetes UK and Help for Heroes. I'm a passionate advocate of equitable access for disabled people and those living with long-term conditions and across the arts, cultural, educational, and health transport sectors. Prior to moving full-time to charity leadership, I worked as a world expert on disability and culture and worked in Argentina, Singapore and across North America, sharing my Relaxed Performance and Arts Access model.

Dr Samir Khan

Founder and Managing Director

Lighthouse Innovations Ltd

Dr Samir Khan

Founder and Managing Director

Samir is a global market access and innovation strategy professional with more than a decade of experience in the Life Sciences and Healthcare arena, bringing health economic evidence and market access strategies to public and corporate decision-makers investing in health and social impact technologies. Samir is the founder of Lighthouse Innovations Ltd – an Oxford-based innovation and access strategy consultancy advising several global impact-focussed enterprises within and beyond the health ecosystem of the UK. Samir has helped in mobilising the payer evidence and commercialisation of top 10 FTSE Global Life Sciences and Healthcare products across oncology, rare, cardio-metabolic, and mental health diseases. In a part-time capacity, Samir leads the commercial strategy at Jiva.ai and Digistain – two UK-borne start-ups committed to healthcare transformation. Samir is a panellist at the NHSX’s AI Award (£250Mn) and has mentored >100 startups at accelerators such as the KQ Labs, Cancer Tech Accelerator, P4 Precision Medicine, BIA, NPIC, ANDHealth, Triple Chasm Company and TheHill MAA. As a result, the start-ups have de-risked their product profiles, developed regulatory and payer evidence, and secured new funding (>£20Mn), partners and customers. Samir was awarded the Bill and Melinda Gates Fellowship Award to complete his PhD in Pharmacology at Cambridge University.

SHAUN ROWARK

Associate Director for Data Access and Analysis,

NICE

SHAUN ROWARK

Associate Director for Data Access and Analysis,

I have worked in UK healthcare informatics for over a decade, starting out as a data analyst in hospital trusts to now being an associate director overseeing NICE’s access to healthcare data sources and developing its burgeoning data analysis function.

Vasiliki Patsioura

Global Pricing Implementation Lead

AstraZeneca

Vasiliki Patsioura

Global Pricing Implementation Lead

Coming Soon!

Francis Pang

SVP Global Market Access and Geographic Expansion

Orchard Therapeutics

Francis Pang

SVP Global Market Access and Geographic Expansion

Francis Pang is Senior Vice President, Global Market Access and International Geographic Expansion at Orchard Therapeutics and has more than 20 years of experience in pricing and reimbursement, market access, health economics and corporate development, encompassing leadership roles at Shire Human Genetic Therapies, Biogen and Amicus Therapeutics. Francis served as a founding member of the NICE Highly Specialised Technologies (HST) Committee as the Healthcare Industry Representative and Economic Lead for 10 years. Francis currently chairs the EU Access and Value Recognition Committee for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM). Prior to joining the biopharmaceutical industry, Francis was the inaugural Pharmacoeconomics Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics, University of York and Monbusho Scholar at Kyoto University. Francis’s educational background allows him to operate at the intersection of science (University of Cambridge), business administration (INSEAD) and economics (University of York).

Chris Grimes-Crompton

Principal Consultant

Decisive Consulting Ltd

Chris Grimes-Crompton

Principal Consultant

Chris has 25+ years of life science experience with executive roles in the Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Medtech and Health-tech industries. Chris has led organisations and functions at global, regional and country level and has a wealth of therapeutic experience from mass market to orphan disease. He has led or been involved in a significant number of product launches, some of which have had a lasting impact upon the wider industry. Chris is now a principal at Decisive Consulting where he specialises in supporting companies planning to commercialize in Europe; building capability, successfully navigating the HTA process and building organizations fit for success.

Richard Macaulay

SVP, Global Pricing and Market Access,

PRECISIONadvisors

Richard Macaulay

SVP, Global Pricing and Market Access,

Richard Macaulay is a Senior Vice President at Precision in the EU arm of the Global Pricing & Access Strategy practice. Richard is based in London and brings over 10 years’ consulting experience in pricing and market access (P&MA). Richard has collaborated with companies across the commercialization spectrum in established and emerging markets to answer strategic questions in pricing, positioning, evidence development, value communication and access, evidence generation plans, value communication tools, and negotiation frameworks). Richard has experience across a wide range of therapy areas, with particular expertise and interest in those where access can be most challenging: oncology and rare diseases. Richard is an established thought leader, Richard has presented research, and moderated and participated in panel discussions at numerous leading access conferences (DIA, RAPS, ISPOR, ISMPP, HTAi).

David Alderson

Director

Cogentia

David Alderson

Director

David is Director leading the market access team at Cogentia. His interest is in problem solving and developing integrated, evidence-based solutions to new and perennial access challenges. He brings a wealth of experience from over 30 years in the industry, within many different multi-disciplinary teams and companies, spanning both industry and consulting, and global and national roles. Prior to Cogentia in 2015 he worked for Evidera, GfK (now IPSOS), Bridgehead International, AZ/Medimmune, Novartis and GSK, and has been fortunate enough to be involved in a number of merger integrations. David’s focus is on market access strategy, pricing, due diligence and opportunity assessment, evidence development, value communication and messaging, ensuring that access is integrated into early development and portfolio decisions, and facilitating access for innovation. David has an MBA from Cranfield, a post graduate diploma in marketing, and is a Chartered Engineer.