OIPRC Conference: The Changing Architecture of Pharmaceutical Patent Protection and Related Regulatory Rights

Pharmaceutical patent law and related regulatory rights are entering a period of significant transformation. Regulatory reform at the EU level, an emerging corpus of decisions from the Unified Patent Court, and new developments on SPCs, plausibility and remedies are reshaping the legal and strategic landscape for innovators, generics, their legal representatives and the judiciary.

On 17 April 2026, the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre will host a one-day conference examining these developments and their practical implications. Bringing together leading judges, practitioners, industry representatives and academics, the conference will provide a focused forum for rigorous and forward-looking discussion.

The programme is structured around four thematic panels:

1. Regulatory developments — analysing the EU pharmaceutical reform package and the European Health Data Space, and their implications for innovation, data governance and market access.
2. The Unified Patent Court — assessing the Court’s emerging jurisprudence, including the impact of BSH v Electrolux and the continuing significance of the Amgen v Sanofi litigation.
3. Supplementary Protection Certificates — examining the evolving meaning of “product” and the treatment of combination patents in light of recent CJEU and domestic case law.
4. Broader doctrinal and remedial questions — including plausibility, the interface between patents and competition law, and the developing approach to injunctive relief.

The focus throughout is on the law as it operates in practice: how recent decisions and legislative reforms are influencing litigation strategy, regulatory positioning and commercial outcomes. The conference will convene judges from the UPC and the English courts, leading barristers, and representatives of pharmaceutical companies for informed, high-level debate.

Booking is now open.

Agenda Below:

09:00 – Welcome Address (Prof. Dev Gangjee and Dr. Katarina Foss-Solbrekk) 

09:10 – 09:30 – Short plenary address, TBC

09:30 – 11:00 – Session 1: Developments within patent law

Chair: Lord Kitchin 

1. Apixaban decision – Daniel Brook, Partner, Hogan Lovells
2. Injunctive relief pending appeal – Kit Carter, Global Head of IP Litigation, Sandoz
3. Patents and competition law – Katarina Foss-Solbrekk 

Tea and Coffee (15min)

11:15 – 12:45 – Session 2: Supplementary Protection Certificates 

Chair: Lord Justice Richard Arnold 

1. The meaning of ‘Product’ – Kathryn Pickard KC, Barrister, 11 South Square
2. Combination patents – James Horgan, Chief IP Counsel, Merck Sharp & Dohme 

3. Second medical use patents – Stuart Baran, 3 New Square 

   Lunch (1 hour)

13:45 – 15:15 – Session 3: Unified Patent Court 

Chair: Sir Christopher Floyd 

1. The effect of BSH v Electrolux – Maxence Rivoire, Lecturer Kings College London
2. Substantive patent law topic / injunctive relief – Edger Brinkman, UPC judge
3. Amgen v Sanofi – Darren Smyth, Partner, UK and European Patent Attorney, EIP 

Tea and Coffee (15 min) 

15:30 – 17:00 – Session 4: EU Developments – an overview 

Chair: Professor Timo Minssen 

1. European Health Data Space – Gabriela Lenarczyk, Postdoctoral Fellow at Inter Ce-BIL
2. [TBC]
3. Pharma reform package – Victoria Kitcatt, Pfizer