Launching the IP PACT: Our approach to Intellectual Property with patient and societal benefit at its core

Jean-Christophe Tellier

IFPMA President and Chair of the IFPMA CEO Steering Committee, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Executive Committee, UCB

Jean-Christophe Tellier joined UCB in 2011. He became UCB’s Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2015 after having successfully led UCB’s BioBrands and Solutions division as Executive Vice President.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of UCB, Chair of BCR (Biopharmaceutical CEOs Roundtable), President IFPMA (International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations), Member of the Board of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Associations (EFPIA) and Vice-Chair of the Innovation Board Sponsored Committee (EFPIA). He is also a member of the Board of PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) and of WELBIO (Walloon Institute for Life Lead Sciences).

Jean-Christophe Tellier is an experienced global leader. He was trained as a Medical Doctor and specialized in rheumatology. He has built a distinguished 30+ year career in the biopharmaceutical industry, taking on different global leadership responsibilities in different parts of the world.

His patient-centric approach, his passion for science, combined with his strategic and operational skills, have allowed him to significantly contribute to UCB’s success in recent years. Jean-Christophe believes that the best way to have a positive impact on society and continue to thrive is to deliver on our commitments to patients and our stakeholders. To this end he has led the integration of our sustainability approach into our strategy to help UCB improve its societal impact while ensuring that we continue to perform well as a company.

He has also been instrumental in humanizing UCB’s approach towards patients, developing the company’s Patient Value Strategy. For Jean-Christophe “engaging the patient in our vision is the best way for our company to be successful in the long term. Having a holistic view of a patient, of his/her life in his/her environment is essential to ensure effective treatment”. Jean-Christophe also believes that “all healthcare players - physicians, payors, carers, industry and academia - should cooperate even more effectively and become stronger partners sharing a same goal: improving patient care”.

As a leader, Jean-Christophe has always had a passion for developing people, which he sees as “a key force to drive company success”. His ambition is to continue to further engage UCB teams behind the company’s vision and fully leverage UCB’s strong culture and talents.

Paola Barbarino

Chief Executive Officer, Alzheimer’s Disease International

Paola is CEO of Alzheimer’s Disease International. Prior to this, she was CEO of LIFE and occupied senior positions with Cass Business School, Tate, British Library and IIED. She is a Board Member of the World Dementia Council, a Trustee of The Postal Museum and of Lauderdale House. Previously she was a Non-Executive Director of the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (NCDA), a Trustee of Shelter, the housing/homelessness charity, and of MLA London. She holds a degree cum laude in Classics from Federico II Napoli University, an MA in Field and Analytical Techniques in Archaeology and an MA in Library and Information Science both from University College London.

Sune Stampe Sørensen

Director General, Danish Patent and Trademark Office

Sune Stampe Sørensen is the Director General and CEO of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office under the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs. He is also Board member of the Nordic Patent Institute (NPI), member of the Board at the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV), member of the Management Board at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and member of the Board of the Administrative Council in the European Patent Office (EPO).

Previously, he has held various executive positions in the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark and at the Danish Ministry of Finance. Prior to this, he was Private Secretary to the Danish Prime Minister.

Sune holds an M.A. in Political Science from University of Copenhagen and Certificat d’Etudes Politiques from Sciences Po in Grenoble, France.

Thomas B. Cueni

Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA)

Thomas B. Cueni is Director General of IFPMA, the global association of pharmaceutical research companies, based in Geneva and is Secretary of the global Biopharmaceutical CEO Roundtable (BCR). In this capacity, Thomas Cueni was instrumental in creating the AMR Action Fund. A ground-breaking partnership, launched in 2020, that has raised nearly $1 billion to bring 2-4 new antibiotics to patients by 2030. These treatments are urgently needed to address the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant infections – also called antimicrobial resistance, or AMR.

Thomas Cueni represents the innovative biopharmaceutical industry on the ACT Accelerator, the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a unique global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

Thomas Cueni is Chair of the Business at OECD Health Committee, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the City Cancer Challenge (CCan), an initiative aiming to improve cancer care in major cities in low- and middle-income countries. Cueni also serves as Industry Co-Chair of the APEC Biopharmaceutical Working Group on Ethics. Furthermore, he is Chair of the Board of the cross-sectoral AMR Industry Alliance, a group committed to tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance, which includes more than 100 companies and associations representing Rx pharma, generics, biotech, and diagnostics.

Prior to joining IFPMA he was Secretary General of Interpharma, the association of pharmaceutical research companies in Switzerland, and for many years was a member of the Board and Chair of a key committee of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.

Prior to his appointment with Interpharma, Thomas Cueni had a career as a journalist, inter alia as London correspondent for the “Basler Zeitung” and “Der Bund”, and he served as a Swiss career diplomat with postings in Paris (OECD) and Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO). He studied at the University of Basle, the London School of Economics, and the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies, and has Master degrees in economics (University of Basel) and politics (London School of Economics, LSE).