Building Europe's biotechnology future: from discovery to delivery

A trained cardiovascular surgeon, Vytenis Andriukaitis practiced medicine for over 20 years before transitioning fully into politics. He is a co-author and signatory of the Independence Act of Lithuania and one of the co-authors of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania adopted in 1992.

Andriukaitis is a founding member and former Chairman of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), currently serving as its Honorary Chairman. Andriukaitis was a long-serving member of the Lithuanian Parliament; he also served as Lithuania’s Minister for Health, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, where he championed numerous public health initiatives, and most recently as the WHO Special Envoy for Universal Health Coverage in the European region.

His extensive body of work includes over 140 legislative proposals and amendments at both the national and EU levels, along with numerous articles and books focused on health policy and European integration.

Graziella Collu is the Vice President and Global Head of Regulatory Affairs of AstraZeneca. She is also a Board member of the Innovation Board Sponsored Committee of EFPIA, the trade association representing the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, and of Accumulus Synergy, a global, non-profit industry association focused on enhancing collaboration between life sciences organizations and regulatory authorities.

Tamsin Rose is a facilitator who was until recently a senior fellow for health at Friends of Europe. Having studied international relations, she has 25 years of experience working across the European continent from Ireland to Mongolia. A natural communicator, Tamsin has been a radio reporter, worked on press for the EU Delegation in Moscow and is currently a member of the external speaker team for the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication, describing how the EU works and key policies to visitor groups from around the world. Since 2002, she has specialised in public health and public participation issues, serving as the Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), and providing strategic advice for health groups on how to engage successfully with the EU.

Thomas Van Cangh is the current Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission, where he focuses on strategic health initiatives, including biotechnology regulation and innovation. Earlier in his career, Thomas contributed to Europe’s health security agenda at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and has published on cross-border health threats and public health governance. He also served on secondment to the Cabinet of the Belgian Prime Minister during Belgium’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, where he worked on high-level policy coordination and EU health priorities.