AGENDA

14th Annual

LIFE SCIENCE PATIENT ADVOCACY CONFERENCE

November 4-5, 2025 | Nashville, TN

Agenda – Day One

Tuesday, November 4

8:00   REGISTRATION & WELCOME COFFEE

9:00   CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS

9:15    OPENING Q&A ICEBREAKER

This interactive ice breaker will open the event with an opportunity for all participants to move around the conference room with the goal of meeting other delegates and engaging in swift discussions. The audience is encouraged to briefly exchange perspectives on the evolution of patient advocacy at their organizations and different organizational approaches related to anticipated federal policy shifts. Furthermore, participants in this warm-up session are also given the opportunity to directly build contacts.

9:45   KEYNOTE: NAVIGATING 2025 LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY CHANGES & DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS ON HEALTH CARE

2025 has seen substantial federal legislative and policy changes that will directly impact patient access to health insurance and access to health care. These ongoing changes will have innumerable downstream effects on the health care system, including for patients, providers, hospitals, health systems, and industry. It is crucial to have a clear understanding of these changes and their likely and potential impact, in order to ensure patient access to quality care.

Joanna Doran, Esq., Chief Executive Officer
TRIAGE CANCER

10:30   COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK

11:00   RE-ORIENTING CLINICAL TRIALS AS A MUTUALLY-BENEFICIAL PROCESS

The clinical trial process is experiencing a deficit of participants due to lack of awareness from both patients and healthcare providers. Communication gaps before, during, and after the process often leave patients unclear about cost, benefits, and overall outcomes. There is an opportunity to improve communication and involvement for patients and family to ensure insights and expectations are met. Pharmaceutical companies can improve patient-trial connections by collaborating with advocates, developing a clear access path for participants, including those who could benefit from innovative therapies as a form of healthcare, and engaging with the patients after the trial conclusion.
• Lack of awareness and communication disrupts trial recruitment
• Outlining patients benefits from clinical trials as a form of healthcare
• Journey-mapping to better connect patients in CT process

Nicole Schroeder, Director, Patient Advocacy
ARVINAS

11:45   ENHANCING INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS FOR IMPROVED REPRESENTATION IN ADVOCACY

• Addressing institutional challenges that result in public scrutiny
Implementing transparency strategies to help restore trust in PA relationships
Highlight the importance of buy-in from patients to better improve health

Matt Farber, Sr. Director, Alzheimer’s Advocacy & Professional Relations
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY

12:30   LUNCHEON

1:30   SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS: REPRESENTATION AND MEASURING IMPACT WITHIN ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATIONS

• Defining a value proposition for patient advocacy function
• Communicating the impact & necessity of advocacy to leadership
• Effective methods for advocacy leaders to compliantly measure results
• Reframing success metrics from “return on investment” to “return on engagement

Grayson Schulz, Senior Health Equity Strategist
ELEVATE ADVOCACY

2:15   UTILIZING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO EMPOWER PATIENT VOICE

With artificial intelligence gradually being integrated into the life sciences industry, advocates must learn to generate data that can stand up to technical rigor. While a data-first approach may help with measuring ROI, a traditionally challenging aspect of patient advocacy, a strictly impartial and robotic method risks replacing the patient voice altogether, thereby decentering patients during the process. Advocates can work with this by turning patient storytelling into data-driven storytelling that will validate the patient voice rather than replace it.
• Current industry uses for integrating AI data analysis
• Sharing methods around using data to tell patient stories
• Discuss potential challenges to AI integration

Nasha Fitter, CITIZEN HEALTH/FOXG1 RESEARCH FOUNDATION

3:00   COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK

3:30   MANAGING ADVOCACY BURNOUT AMID RAPID CHANGE IN POLICY

• Assessing underlying drivers and unique challenges of burnout
• Discuss strategies to mitigate burnout despite constant policy shifts
• Explore resilience-building techniques, and collaborative approaches

Monique French, Vice President, Patient Advocacy
RX4GOOD

4:15   PANEL DISCUSSION: EFFORTS TOWARD HEALTH EQUITY AMID SHIFTING FEDERAL PRIORITIES

The current administration has released a series of executive orders addressing any diversity-related initiatives, which will have a significant impact on research, development, and efforts to promote equitable access.
• Highlighting the impact of executive orders on R&D
• Share structural barriers and limitations that challenge equity
• Discuss current strategies for equitable access while remaining compliant

Stephanie Reffey, EXACT SCIENCES
Aïcha Diallo, PATIENT EMPOWERMENT NETWORK

5:00   CLOSING REMARKS AND END DAY TWO

Sr. CSA, ALEXION

Head of Health Equity, Patient Engagement and Policy AMGEN

Global Head, Patient Advocacy, ARGENX

Director, Patient Advocacy, ASTRIA THERAPEUTICS

Sr. Director, Advocacy & Strategic Alliance, AURINIA PHARMA

Co-Founder & Executive Director, AVERY’S HOPE

Associate Director, Global Patient Advocacy, BMS

Senior Director, Patient Advocacy, CATALYST PHARMACEUTICAL

Director of Advocacy, CHRONIC DISEASE COALITION

Associate Director, Patient Advocacy & Outreach, CRINETICS

Executive Director, DYSPHONIA INTERNATIONAL

Associate, Director Corporate Advocacy, EISAI 

Associate Vice President – Neuroscience Advocacy, ELI LILLY

Patient Advocacy & Engagement, ENCODED THERAPEUTICS

Senior Manager, Patient Advocacy, FORGE BIOLOGICS

Dir,  Patient & Professional Partnerships, FOUNDATION MEDICINE

Executive Director, GBS

Patient Advocacy Relations, GENENTECH

Director, Public Affairs US Patient Advocacy, GILEAD SCIENCES

Chief Science Policy Officer, GLOBAL HEALTHY LIVING FOUNDATION

Sr. Director, Patient Engagement and Advocacy, GSK

President, HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT FOUNDATION

Senior Director, Patient Advocacy, HORIZON PHARMA

Head of Patient Advocacy, IMMUNOVANT INC

Global Director Patient Advocacy and Engagement, JANSSEN (J&J)

SVP, JPA HEALTH COMMUNICATIONS

Vice President, Product Development, LEADIANT BIOSCIENCES

Patient Advocate, LUPUS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA