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7:00 AM (ET)
  1. Registration
    Registration Promenade Foyer
  2. Breakfast
    Promenade Foyer
8:30 AM (ET)
  1. Welcome and Opening Remarks
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
8:50 AM (ET)
  1. Home Run! Patient Advocates Leading the Way
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Michele Oshman, Chief Patient Advocate and Senior Vice President, Alliance Development - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Annie Kennedy, Chief Mission Officer - RARE Foundation
    Sue Peschin, MHS, President and CEO - Alliance for Aging Research
    Erika Sward, Chief Advocacy Officer - UsAgainstAlzheimer's
9:25 AM (ET)
  1. 21st Century Access: Pain Points for Patients 
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Kate Mevis, Associate Vice President, U.S. Federal Policy - Merck
    Speakers
    Leah Howard, JD, President and CEO - National Psoriasis Foundation
    Carl Schmid, Executive Director - HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute
    Pam Traxel, Senior Vice President, Alliance Development and Philanthropy - American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
10:00 AM (ET)
  1. Policy Braintrust, Federal Edition: Ask the Experts
    Breakout Session East Ballroom
    Moderator
    Chris Porter, Vice President - Travere Therapeutics
    Speakers
    Anna Abram, Senior Advisor - Akin
    Kimberlee Trzeciak, Vice President U.S. Government and Regulatory Affairs - US Pharmacopeia (USP)
  2. Welcome to the Big Leagues: Advocacy in Practice
    Breakout Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Kim Love, Senior Director of Government Affairs and Strategic Alliances - Amgen
    Speakers
    Tricia Brooks, Vice President and Head of Office, Government Affairs & Policy - Eisai
    Erin Darbouze, MPH, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy - Research America
    Brian DuVal, MPH, Director, Patient Advocacy - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
10:45 AM (ET)
  1. Pitch and Pivot! Keys to Make Your Communications More Powerful and Persuasive
    Workshop Grand Ballroom
    Speakers
    Mike Huckman, Principal - Huckman Group
  2. Policy Braintrust, State Edition: Ask the Experts
    Breakout Session East Ballroom
    Moderator
    Dmitri Siegel, US Government Affairs, Policy & Alliance - Bristol Myers Squibb
    Speakers
    Amy Berenbaum, Vice President and Counsel for Policy and Advocacy - Colorado BioScience Association
    Pam Traxel, Senior Vice President, Alliance Development and Philanthropy - American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
    Brian Warren, Vice President, State Government Affairs - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
11:30 AM (ET)
  1. In the Wrong Ballpark: Why PDABs Don’t Work
    Breakout Session East Ballroom
    Moderator
    Brian Warren, Vice President, State Government Affairs - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Maimah Karmo, President and CEO - Tigerlily Foundation
    Tiffany Westrich-Robertson, Chief Executive Officer - Ai Arthritis
12:00 PM (ET)
  1. Lunch
    Promenade Foyer
1:30 PM (ET)
  1. Fireside Chat with Cal Ripken Jr.
    Keynote Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    John F. Crowley, President and CEO - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Cal Ripken Jr.
2:35 PM (ET)
  1. Inside Baseball: IRA, PDABs, MFN & More
    Breakout Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Karin Hoelzer, DVM, PhD, Senior Director, Patient Advocacy - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Jennifer Snow, Founder and Managing Director - Apteka
    Patrick Wildman, Senior Vice President, Advocacy & Government Relations - Lupus Foundation of America
  2. From Ideas to Innovations: How Molecules Become Medicines
    Breakout Session East Ballroom
    Moderator
    Steve Berman, Vice President, Science and Regulatory Affairs Strategy - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Andrew Slugg, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Regulatory Sciences - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
3:05 PM (ET)
  1. Networking Break
    Session
3:15 PM (ET)
  1. State of Play: Legislative Landscape for '27
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Patrick Plues, Senior Vice President, State Government Affairs & Affiliate Relations - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Lynn Albizo, JD, Chief Public Policy Officer - Immune Deficiency Foundation
    Ranier Simons, Patient-Centered Drug Pricing Policy Director - CANN
    Carter Steger, Vice President, State and Local Campaign - American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
3:50 PM (ET)
  1. The 120th Playbook
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Kristin Murphy, Vice President, Federal Government Relations - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Cori Kramer, CEO - Center Forward
4:25 PM (ET)
  1. It's a Whole New Ballgame: Trust in Science 
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Phyllis Arthur, MBA, Executive Vice President & Chief of Global Health - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Sean Clements, Principal - SPC Strategies
    Amar Duggirala, DO, MPH, FAAFP, Board Chair, and immediate Past President - Maryland Academy of Family Physicians (MDAFP)
    Caitlin Grezeskowiak, PhD, Chief Research and Innovation Officer - Epilepsy Foundation
4:55 PM (ET)
  1. Closing Remarks
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
5:30 PM (ET)
  1. Networking Reception
    Reception State Ballroom
7:00 AM (ET)
  1. Breakfast
    Promenade Foyer
  2. Registration
    Registration Promenade Foyer
8:45 AM (ET)
  1. Fight of Our Lives: The People and Breakthroughs Changing What’s Possible
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Sarah Alspach, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Katy Grainger, Member, Board of Directors - Sepsis Alliance
9:00 AM (ET)
  1. PDUFA VIII. Demystified.
    Plenary Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Steve Berman, Vice President, Science and Regulatory Affairs Strategy - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Jeff Allen, PhD, President and CEO - Friends of Cancer Research
    Adora Ndu, PharmD, JD, Chief Regulatory Officer, and Executive Vice President of Portfolio Strategy and Management - BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.
9:30 AM (ET)
  1. FDA Fireside Chat
    Keynote Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    John F. Crowley, President and CEO - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Michael Davis, MD, PhD, Center Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
    Karim Mikhail, B.Pharm, MSc, Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
10:30 AM (ET)
  1. Networking Break
    Session
11:00 AM (ET)
  1. Getting the Runaround - Games Payers Play  
    Breakout Session East Ballroom
    Moderator
    Karin Hoelzer, DVM, PhD, Senior Director, Patient Advocacy - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
    Speakers
    Monica Bryant, Chief Mission Officer and Co-founder - Triage Cancer
    Mike Graglia, Founder and CEO - CURE SYNGAP1
    Melanie Lendnal, Esq, Senior Vice President of Policy & Advocacy - ALS Association
  2. Death By a Thousand Cuts
    Breakout Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Tim Vaske, Senior Director, Federal Issue Advocacy & Alliance - Genentech
    Speakers
    Lisa Bercu, Senior Director of Health Policy - National Consumers League
    Brian Connell, Vice President, Federal Affairs - Blood Cancer United
    Kim Czubaruk, JD, Vice President of Policy - CancerCare
11:30 AM (ET)
  1. From Clinical Guidelines to Access in the Clinic
    Breakout Session East Ballroom
    Moderator
    Lenja Wiehe, Director, Global Patient Advocacy Lead - Alexion Pharmaceuticals
    Speakers
    Allison Foss, Executive Director - Myasthenia Gravis Association
    Dottie Shead, MS, Assistant Vice President, Patient Information Operations - National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
    Jamie Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy - RARE Foundation
  2.  Stories and Statistics that Shape Smart Policy
    Breakout Session Grand Ballroom
    Moderator
    Catherine Jackson, Senior Director, Patient Engagement and Advocacy - Keenova Therapeutics
    Speakers
    Lynn Albizo, JD, Chief Public Policy Officer - Immune Deficiency Foundation
    Jennifer Dexter, Senior Vice President, Policy and External Affairs - National Health Council
    Robert Egge, Chief Public Policy Officer - Alzheimer's Association
12:00 PM (ET)
  1. Lunch