The Law and Economics of Drug Development
November 7, 2008

Symposium Overview

New drugs promise to prolong and improve the quality of human lives. But, as the cost of new drug development increases, policy makers face difficult tradeoffs. This symposium addressed some of the most pressing policy questions facing FDA, Congress, and the courts, including:

  • How have recent regulatory initiatives affected the introduction of new drugs?
  • What role remains for state tort liability alongside the federal regime for regulating the safety of drugs?
  • How can the current system of incentives be improved?

Symposium Participants

Robert Armitage, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
   Eli Lilly and Company

Omri Ben-Shahar, Professor of Law
   University of Chicago Law School

Rebecca Eisenberg, Professor of Law
   University of Michigan Law School

Scott Hemphill, Professor of Law
   Columbia Law School

Peter Barton Hutt, Senior Counsel
   Covington & Burling LLP

Ariel Katz, Professor of Law
   University of Toronto Faculty of Law

Frank Lichtenberg, Professor of Business
   Columbia University Graduate School of Business

Lars Noah, Professor of Law
   University of Florida Levin College of Law

Mary Olson, Professor of Economics
   Tulane University

Benjamin Roin, Professor of Patent Law
   Harvard Law School

Catherine Sharkey, Professor of Law
   New York University School of Law

Scott Stern, Professor of Management & Strategy
   Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Qing Zhang, Professor of Law
   China University of Political Science and Law


Symposium Panels

Panel I: Regulatory Initiatives (Omri Ben-Shahar, Moderator)
   Ariel Katz
   Frank Lichtenberg
   Mary Olson
   Scott Stern
   Qing Zhang

Panel II: Alternative Perspectives on IP Regimes (Peter Barton Hutt, Moderator)
   Robert Armitage
   Rebecca Eisenberg
   Scott Hemphill
   Benjamin Roin

Panel III: Federal Preemption and Torts (Rebecca Eisenberg, Moderator)
   Lars Noah
   Catherine Sharkey


Symposium Sponsors

Program in Law, Economics, & Technology, University of Michigan Law School
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review (with generous funding from Microsoft Corporation)