ACI's Hatch-Waxman series: The 13th edition of Maximizing Pharmaceutical Patent Life Cycles

Sept. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- For the major players in the pharmaceutical industry, all eyes are currently on American Conference Institute’s (ACI’s) series of Hatch-Waxman events.   With the era of blockbuster drug coming to an end in view of brand name pharma’s dwindling R&D pipelines, record patent expirations on key products and diminishing opportunities for generic market opportunities, this series of conferences has taken on a new level of industry significance.  ACI’s Hatch Waxman series -- which includes the premier and original Paragraph IV Disputes, Maximizing Patent Life Cycles and Hatch-Waxman Boot Camp conferences – continues to retain its staying power and timeliness as thousands of representatives from over 200 leading brand name and generic pharmaceutical companies continue to attend these events year after year as they have done for over a decade.

The Hatch-Waxman series provide the brand and generic industry with much needed guidance, value and unprecedented insights during this evolutionary time in the industry’s history when patents and profits are at stake. Whether it is instruction in the essentials of Hatch-Waxman; the complexities of life cycle management; policy considerations or strategies and tactics for Paragraph IV litigation, one of the conferences in this series will provide the critical information which industry and law firm participants seek.

Lisa Piccolo, Senior Industry Manager at ACI and creator of the Hatch-Waxman series credits the evolution of the series to the development of the Maximizing Patent Life Cycles conference nearly 15 years ago.  “At the time, there was nothing on the market like it and over the years the conference grew into a number of related events including the very first conference completely dedicated to Paragraph IV litigation.”

On October 10th, ACI will kickoff this season’s Hatch-Waxman series with the 13th edition of Maximizing Pharmaceutical Patent Life Cycles at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in New York City.  George W. Johnston, the Vice President and Chief Patent Counsel of Hoffmann La-Roche, who has served as the conference co-chair of this seminal event since its inception in 2002, remarked that the longevity and success of this conference and the series in general, stems from ACI’s dedication to maintaining the integrity of the subject matter and content. As Johnston says, “from its genesis over a decade ago, ACI has dedicated itself to create the definitive courses involving Hatch-Waxman practice. The exceptional speakers that ACI selects remain at the top of their game. The quality of these courses has not been duplicated by others and is unsurpassed.”

ACI has been quite fortunate to align itself with key industry players such as Johnston in developing a series of forums designed for every level of patent practitioner.  As Piccolo puts it, “these conferences speak to industry counsel and executives in their own language and have also helped make terms such as Paragraph IV disputes and PIV litigation a common part of industry vernacular.” Piccolo went on to say that, “attendees for these conference are especially looking forward to hearing not only from industry, but also from the biopharmaceutical industries two leading trade associations: PhRMA and BIO, as well as the three major government agencies having jurisdiction in this space:  FDA, USPTO and FTC.”

For more information about the ACI Hatch-Waxman series, including dates and venues for the upcoming 2012-2013 season or ACI, see:
www.AmericanConference/Hatch-Waxman.com


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A unique organization, American Conference Institute is devoted to providing the business intelligence that senior decision-makers need to respond to challenges both here in the US, and around the world.

Staffed by industry specialists, lawyers and other professionals, American Conference Institute operates as a think tank, monitoring trends and developments in all major industry sectors, the law, and public policy, with a view to providing information on the leading edge.