BIO Europe, CCD Congress Centre, Düsseldorf, Oct 31 - Nov 1

01-12-2011

The BIO Europe conference this year takes in a variety of hot topics in the life sciences arena. WIPR takes a look, and talks to speaker Perter Homberg about how dealmaking in the industry is changing.

The biotechnology industry is changing. A perfect storm of economic constraints, looming blockbuster patent expirations and reduced government budgets mean that companies in the industry are facing new pressures. How they adapt to the changing environment will dictate whether they prosper in the years to come.

Peter Homberg, partner at Raupach & Wollert-Elmendorff and head of Raupach’s Life Science Practice, will be chairing a panel on IP and deal- making dynamics at the conference. It will look at recent developments in IP law, including the impact of the revisions to US patent law, and consider the future of personalised medicine and bio-marker assisted methods of treatment.

As Homberg points out, “there are some changes in the market that have been triggered by pressure on big pharma – there’s a relatively small new product pipeline, expiring patents for “Block Buster Therapeutics”, and new issues with respect to reimbursement. There’s also pressure on the regulatory side.” Big pharmaceutical companies, he says, have reacted quite naturally to these pressures.


BIO Europe conference, Peter Homberg

WIPR