The Washington International Trade Association (WITA) in partnership with the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), invite you to join a webinar focusing on the relationship between trade, drug development, and biopharmaceutical supply chains in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The panel discussion will feature Elissa Alben, Senior Director and Lead, Global Trade Policy and International Government Affairs, Pfizer, Joseph Damond, Executive Vice President for International Affairs, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Jonathan Kimball, Vice President, Trade and International Affairs, Association for Accessible Medicines, and will be moderated by Wendy Cutler, Vice President & Managing Director of Washington D.C. Office, Asia Society Policy Institute.

SPEAKERS

Elissa Alben is the Senior Director and Lead, Global Trade Policy and International Government Affairs at Pfizer. Prior to this, Alben was the Senior Counsel for International Trade and Competitiveness with the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Before coming to the Committee, Alben spent eight years at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), where she served as Deputy Assistant USTR for Enforcement and Monitoring and Associate General Counsel. At USTR, she oversaw a wide range of enforcement matters arising from WTO and U.S. free trade agreement obligations, served as chief lawyer for the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) and the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement, and advised on issues including U.S. tariff preference programs, market access, customs, and telecommunications.  She also represented the United States before WTO panels and the WTO Appellate Body. Prior to her time at USTR, Alben worked for three years as an associate in the international trade department at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington, DC.

Joseph Damond is Executive Vice President for International Affairs at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Prior to taking his position at BIO, Mr. Damond was Vice President for International Government Relations in Pfizer’s Washington Office from 2006-2011. In that capacity, he was responsible for managing and coordinating Pfizer’s international trade issues with the Administration and Congress. Mr. Damond spent 12 years as a trade negotiator at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, where his last assignment, from 1999-2001, was as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Asia and Pacific/APEC Affairs.  During this time, he was also chief negotiator of the historic U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade agreement, completed in July 2000.  Prior to his time at USTR, Mr. Damond also spent four years at the U.S. Commerce Department, working on bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations.

Jonathan Kimball is the Vice President of Trade and International Affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM). He serves as senior strategist and advocate in partnership with the SVP, General Counsel, to direct the international trade strategy of AAM and represent the association and its member companies’ interests before the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, Congress, The White House and other stakeholders. Before joining AAM in February 2019, Jonathan was Managing Director, Healthcare Policy at Burson Cohn & Wolfe (formerly Burson-Marsteller). In this role he collaborated with pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, trade associations and other clients to develop public affairs and advocacy campaigns aimed at influencing the policy and regulatory environments in the United States and international markets. Previously, he was Deputy Vice President at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), for which he developed and advanced external advocacy and communication efforts in partnership with senior U.S. and foreign government officials, Congressional staff, patient organizations and other trade associations.

Wendy Cutler is Vice President of ASPI and Managing Director of its Washington, D.C. office. She joined ASPI following nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Most recently, she served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, working on a range of U.S. trade negotiations and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. In that capacity she was responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, including the bilateral negotiations with Japan.

*This webinar is run in partnership with the Washington International Trade Association (WITA)