Thomas Cueni is Director General of IFPMA, the global association of pharmaceutical research companies, based in Geneva and is Secretary of the global Biopharmaceutical CEO Roundtable (BCR). In this capacity, Thomas Cueni was instrumental in creating the AMR Action Fund, a collective venture, launched in July 2020, to bridge the current gap in funding for the development of new antibiotics. Thomas Cueni represents the innovative biopharmaceutical industry on the ACT Accelerator, the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a unique global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. Thomas Cueni is Chair of the Business at OECD Health Committee, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the City Cancer Challenge (CCan), an initiative aiming to improve cancer care in major cities in low- and middle-income countries. Cueni also serves as Industry Co-Chair of the APEC Biopharmaceutical WG on Ethics. Furthermore, he is Chair of the Board of the cross-sectoral AMR Industry Alliance, a group committed to tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance, which includes more than 100 companies and associations representing Rx pharma, generics, biotech, and diagnostics. Prior to joining IFPMA he was Secretary General of Interpharma, the association of pharmaceutical research companies in Switzerland, and for many years was a member of the Board and Chair of a key committee of the EFPIA. Prior to his appointment with Interpharma, Thomas Cueni had a career as a journalist, inter alia as London correspondent for the “Basler Zeitung” and “Der Bund”, and he served as a Swiss career diplomat with postings in Paris (OECD) and Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO). He studied at the University of Basel, the London School of Economics, and the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies, and has Master degrees in economics (University of Basel) and politics (London School of Economics).
Fumie Griego is IFPMA’s Deputy Director General and Chief Operating Officer. She joined IFPMA in May 2017 to lead IFPMA’s strategic planning, as well as policy and research for the organization with a focus on health policy and economics topics such as value of medicines, government pricing and reimbursement, and metrics/evaluation. Prior to joining IFPMA, Fumie was Head of Global Oncology Policy and Strategy, Global Government Affairs & Policy at Merck KGaA and Vice President for International Health Policy at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Prior to joining PhRMA, Fumie was as a senior economist in the White House’s Office of Management and Budget where she provided U.S. senior officials in both the Bush and Obama Administrations with policy advice on a range of health policy issues. Fumie holds a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Earth Systems (concentration in environmental economics and policy) from Stanford University.
Greg Perry joined IFPMA on 1st February 2018, and has responsibility for IFPMA’s external outreach and stakeholder engagement in global health topics including innovation, access, and the international regulatory environment. Greg Perry brought with him more than 20 years’ leadership and advocacy experience in the public healthcare arena.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Greg worked as Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool, which he joined in 2013 and as Director General of the European Generic Medicines Association (1999 - 2013) in Brussels. Previously he worked as a partner in a UK public affairs company as a European Union policy advisor to corporate and non-governmental organizations, and before that as a Parliamentary Advisor to Members of the European Parliament. Greg is a Member of the Advisory Council of the Organization for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA) and is a former member of the Standing Advisory Committee before the European Patent Office (SACEPO). Greg also holds the Golden Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
James joined the IFPMA as Executive Director of Global Health in January 2021, where he is responsible for leading the delivery of IFPMA’s relevant policy and advocacy work. In his previous role as Head of Corporate Government Affairs at GSK, James led engagement with the UK Government spanning GSK’s pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and consumer businesses. James was a member of the UK Government’s Life Science Strategy Board and Vice-Chair of Business at OECD’s Healthcare Committee. James also led GSK’s strategy and advocacy on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). He advised on AMR policy development at the WHO, UN, EU Commission, the O’Neill Review and National Governments. He was Chair of the Industry AMR Committee, in the Founding team of the AMR Action Fund and led the development of the Davos Declaration and 2016 UNGA Industry AMR Roadmap.
Janis Bernat joined IFPMA in 2006 to work with the Vaccines Committee and Influenza Vaccine Supply Task Force. She is currently responsible for the policy and technical work in the area of biotherapeutic and biosimilar medicines and leads the organization’s regulatory team.
Janis holds degrees in agriculture, food science, and mass communications from several US universities.
Prior to joining IFPMA, she worked for a US-based multi-national food company in quality assurance and regulatory compliance.
Laetitia Bigger joined IFPMA in 2006 and is responsible for vaccines policy. She coordinated IFPMA activities related to anti-doping cooperation, regulatory policy - clinical trial transparency, ethics in medical research and pediatric medicines - and technical standards for innovative medicines, until December 2011. Prior to joining IFPMA, she worked as clinical research associate for the multidisciplinary center on oncology, University Hospital Lausanne. She holds a PhD degree in Biology from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland).
Guilherme Cintra is Director of Innovation Policy at the IFPMA. He oversees the organization’s activities on government outreach, innovation, intellectual property, trade and alliance-building. Guilherme joined in 2005 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility at the Global Health and Innovation teams.
Guilherme holds a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in Economic History from the University of Geneva as well as a bachelor’s in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Prior to his current position, he has worked as European liaison on several environmental projects, with a focus on carbon credits trading for the Brazilian SME Green Value.
Abigail Jones is responsible for communications at IFPMA. She joined IFPMA after over 25 years in international communications and public affairs consultancy, where she worked for many blue-chip companies, trade associations, think tanks, coalition and advocacy groups.
As a founding partner of Acumen public affairs, Abigail has advised International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) for many years on strategic communications, media relations and stakeholder engagement. During that time, she supported the launches and ongoing work of the Fight the Fakes campaign, AMR Industry Alliance and Pat-INFORMED.
Following her degree in Islamic Art & Archaeology, Abigail kicked off her career working for Middle Eastern and African economic publications, followed by stints in corporate identity and branding, as well as running information and communication contracts for the European Commission.
Sofie Melis joined IFPMA in September 2016. She leads its Ethics and Compliance portfolio, which includes the global implementation of the IFPMA Code of Practice and the management of the Ethics & Business Integrity Committee (eBIC). As from July 2020, her role was extended to include strategic HR responsibilities. In the last 8 years of her career, Sofie has worked in corporate compliance for both Eli Lilly and Biogen Idec. Prior to that she held several roles in HR training & development in the banking, electronics and consulting industry. Just before joining IFPMA, Sofie completed a one year assignment with the International Committee of the Red Cross as Head of HR Compliance. Sofie holds a master’s degree in Languages and Literature, a bachelor in HR Management, a post-master’s in Adult Education and a certificate in International Compliance and Ethics.
James Headen Pfitzer joined IFPMA as the Director of the global ‘Access Accelerated – Moving NCD Care Forward’ initiative in September 2017. Prior to joining IFPMA, James spent ten years at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where he handled strategy, engagement and policy for the Assistant Director Generals of Health Systems and Innovation and Global Health Security. Issues covered by James included AMR, pandemic preparedness, IHR, R&D, innovation, UHC, health systems strengthening, intergovernmental negotiations and consensus building. James also worked to implement capacity building activities at country and community levels and was appointed by the WHO Director General as the health advisor in the UN Secretary General’s Office in New York for the Post-2015 Development Agenda and adoption of the SDGs.
Prior to joining WHO, James was a Legal Officer at the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland. James has written publications including analyses of the WTO dispute settlement system and potential reform with focus on burden of proof and standard of proof issues as well as those related to transparency and public participation. James is an American trained lawyer with an LLM in trade and development and holds a PhD in international law with a focus on due process protections in dispute settlement from the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Laurent Renaud joined IFPMA in April 1994. He is responsible for the administration, finances, and human resources. His tasks include the day to day management (book-keeping, account payable), liaison with the Geneva and Swiss administration; including work permit application and renewal process, social security, pension fund and tax issues and all other legal and/or statutory requirements.
Laurent’s previous positions include senior accounting position in two private hospitals and auditor at Société Fiduciaire Suisse-Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC).
Sara Amini joined IFPMA in July 2018 and leads on policy development regarding the value of and access to medicines, as well engagement with OECD, G7 and G20 on issues related to health policy and biopharmaceutical innovation. Prior to joining IFPMA, Sara worked for the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Government of Canada’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and academic research centers, where she gained extensive experience in IP, innovation and health policy, driving legislative policy development initiatives and taking part in treaty negotiations in a variety of international fora. Sara is a certified attorney-at-law, with degrees in both civil and common law traditions, as well as a degree in Cell Biology from McGill University.
Morgane develops and implements public affairs programs that build trust, dialogue and collaboration between the innovative biopharmaceutical industry and other global players in the health community.
Morgane works in the Innovation Team and is responsible for building relationships, platforms and alliances with public health, business, and academic stakeholders to advocate, support and better understand the global biopharmaceutical industry's critical contribution to public health through the research, development and availability of medicines and vaccines for patient needs worldwide. She also leverages and profiles industry’s collaborations which use innovative approaches to tackle global health challenges.
Morgane has international experience in developing and rolling-out integrated advocacy and communications strategies in the global health sector, with specific focus on institutional communications, media relations, alliance building and event management.
Morgane holds a master’s degree in Languages and Literature from the University of Geneva and a post-graduate degree in Special Events Communication from the Advancia School in Paris.
Nina Grundmann joined the IFPMA in June 2012. She leads IFPMA’s work on antimicrobial resistance and head the secretariat of the AMR Industry Alliance which represents more than 100 pharmaceutical companies. Nina has also worked on vaccine regulatory and programmatic policy and influenza vaccines.
Nina holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from the French Institute of Political Studies and a post-graduate degree in Risk Management from HEC Business School in Paris. Prior to joining IFPMA, Nina worked at Sanofi Pasteur on vaccination policy and advocacy and for the Mérieux Foundation to help enhance research capabilities in developing countries.
Gabi Cruise is the Executive Assistant to the Director General, Thomas Cueni. She joined IFPMA in August 2018.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Gabi worked with Hoffmann-La Roche AG, OTC Marketing Division and in 1999 transferred to Givaudan International SA, Executive Assistant to Corporate Human Resource and the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Sarah Adam joined the IFPMA in November 2016 and is responsible for leading and coordinating IFPMA activities related to Regulatory Policy and Technical Standards, which includes interactions with key stakeholders and regional organisations involved in pharmaceutical regulatory policy.
Sarah worked for the past 8 years as a Manager for the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH), supporting the harmonisation of ICH technical Guidelines and requirements for pharmaceutical product registration.
Prior to this, she dedicated over 10 years of research in academia in the field of pulmonary disease preclinical drug testing and vaccine development. Sarah was an appointed lecturer at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Geneva, she holds a PhD degree in Molecular Biology and an Engineering degree in Biotechnology.
Paula Barbosa joined IFPMA in October 2016 as Vaccines Policy Manager and is responsible for the IFPMA Influenza Vaccine Supply International Task Force, as well as vaccine regulatory and programmatic policy, norms and standards. Paula holds a MSc in Global Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a PharmD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Porto, Portugal.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Paula had worked for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Vaccines in different global marketing and commercial roles, and in GSK Rare Diseases Business Unit in a market access function covering the Latin American region.
Martina Bilova is Office Coordinator at the IFPMA. She joined IFPMA in November 2007 and leads on organization of strategic meetings and supports committees in its projects. In addition Martina provides executive support to IFPMA DG in coordination with Head of DG Office.
Martina holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Geneva and a diploma in Accounting.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Martina worked in administration for trade companies in Slovakia.
Bettina Butzke joined IFPMA in January 2020 and contributes to policy development within the value and access team, as well as to strategic engagement with the OECD, G7 and G20 on health and innovation topics. Prior to joining IFPMA, Bettina gained diverse knowledge and experience in market access, health policy and pricing working in the German affiliate of Sandoz, the global management team of an international healthcare service provider and from her time as a research assistant at the health economics department of a research institute. Bettina holds a master’s degree in public health and a bachelor’s degree in business administration – both with a specialization in health economics and healthcare management.
Sérgio Cavalheiro Filho joined IFPMA in March 2017, focused mostly on supporting IFPMA’s anti-counterfeiting portfolio, namely by engaging with partners from the Fight the Fakes campaign. Since then, he has also worked on issues related to pharmaceutical regulations and global health policy. Currently, Sergio works as an Assistant Manager on Regulatory Affairs at IFPMA.
Sérgio holds a Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Coimbra, Portugal. Before joining IFPMA, Sergio built his professional experience working on late-stage drug formulation and development, as well as a community pharmacist in Portugal.
Luca Deplano joined IFPMA in September 2018, where he currently works as a Assistant Manager on Innovation and Access Policy. Luca supports on IP and Trade affairs, while advancing research and analytical work on different subjects relating to intellectual property, pharmaceutical innovation, and access to medicines. In addition, he contributes to various projects, including IFPMA engagement with youth.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Luca was Assistant Manager on IP and Competition Policy at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Before joining EFPIA, Luca gained professional experience at the Embassy of Italy in Indonesia, within the Political and Commercial Sections, and at Deloitte, in the Strategy Consulting practice. Luca holds a Master of Arts in European Economic Studies: European Law and Economic Analysis from the College of Europe and a Master in International Business & Economics from the University of Pavia.
Natra Elmi joined IFPMA in January 2020 to work as an administrative assistant and receptionist. She assists in administrative functions and meeting organization as well as in charge of the reception at IFPMA.
She is a British and Swiss National and holds a Swiss CFC diploma in hospitality. Prior to working for IFPMA, she built her professional experience as an administrative assistant and receptionist working for hotels and an international organization in Switzerland.
Mümün Gencoglu joined IFPMA in August 2017. He works in regulatory affairs especially related to biotherapeutics. Mümün has also research duties on health economics and policy such as the value of the pharmaceutical research industry. Prior to joining IFPMA, Mümün was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Basel’s Biozentrum working mainly on biological network dynamics and behaviour. Mümün holds a Ph.D. in Systems Biology and Genetics from University of Basel. Prior to his Ph.D., he completed a Master’s degree in Biology at University of Zurich and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical and Bioengineering at Koç University.
Cyntia Genolet joined IFPMA in 2012 to work as the responsible for the anti-counterfeiting portfolio. In addition to this role, she leads since 2017 IFPMA engagement in Africa and deals with other Global Health policies. She also worked on policy issues related to biotherapeutic and regulatory domains. Cyntia holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and a master’s of advanced studies in Health Economics and Management from HEC Lausanne.
Prior to joining IFPMA, she has worked for Sanofi in the office of relations with the International Institutions, in Geneva. She has built her professional experience working for NGOs, international organizations and governments in Africa, South America and Switzerland.
Grega Kumer joined the IFPMA IP and Trade team in September 2016. Grega is responsible for outreach to relevant multilateral organisations and engagement with Governments. In addition, Grega leads industry work on biodiversity. Grega also serves as the liaison between IFPMA and its National and Regional Associations. Since 2009 Grega has been engaged in multilateral negotiations at WIPO and WTO. Before joining the IFPMA he represented the interests of UK government on Intellectual Property related topics across Geneva based multilateral organizations. He also served as the Vice-Chairman of the WIPO Advisory Enforcement Committee. Prior to that, he performed the duties of the Slovenian Deputy Permanent Representative to the WTO and served as WIPO Regional Coordinator for Central European and Baltic States. He also worked as a Legal Adviser to a start-up company, with a focus on patent and trade mark protection. Grega has legal background and holds a Master’s degree in the European Union Law.
Minji Kwak joined IFPMA in April 2015. She coordinates the Access Accelerated initiative and liaises project partners and members.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Languages and Cultures at Chiba University, Japan.
Minji previously worked at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as an Account Assistant and has built her professional experience working for NGOs, international organizations and private companies in Japan and Switzerland.
Ann-Lise Mikolajczak joined IFPMA in June 2019 and supports policy development work on the value of and access to medicines and vaccines, as well as strategic engagement with OECD, G7 and G20 on health and innovation. Prior to joining IFPMA, Ann-Lise was a Public Affairs Coordinator for Global Health at Sanofi, and has gained diverse experience in market access, medical affairs and medico-economics during her time at MSD France, the French Health Technology Assessment Agency (Haute Autorité de Santé), and the University Hospitals of Bordeaux and Toulouse in France. Ann-Lise holds a PharmD with a specialization in Hospital Pharmacy, with complementary diplomas in medico-economics, global health, and statistics for medical trials.
Mara Nakagawa-Harwood joined IFPMA in February 2017 as Manager for the global ‘Access Accelerated – Moving NCD Care Forward’ initiative. She has a wealth of international working experience with multistakeholders partnerships across sectors, HIV policy and advocacy and civil society engagement.
Prior to joining IFPMA Mara served as Grant Coordinator for a multi-agency initiative with WHO, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UN WOMEN and the World Bank, at UNAIDS and as Liaison for the Fast Track Cities Initiative for the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC). Mara served in multiple capacities at the International AIDS Society (IAS), worked as an editor in the UK, as a journalist in Japan and as a trader for export-import companies in Brazil.
Mara studied Letters (B.Litt.) at Faculty Ibero-Americana in Brazil and Master of Public Health with specialization in International Public Health (MPH) at University of Liverpool.
Gwendoline Navarro joined IFPMA in August 2018 as Administrative Officer for the global ‘Access Accelerated – Moving NCD Care Forward’ initiative. She assist in administrative functions and support for the all team.
She holds a Swiss diploma in administration (CFC) and a Swiss maturity in languages.
Gwendoline Navarro previously worked in a Fiduciary in Geneva as an Administrative Assistant and has built her professional experience working for international organizations in Switzerland.
Stéphane PAPES joined IFPMA in February 2019 and is in charge of IFPMA overall Information technology.
He oversees IFPMA servers and infrastructure and constantly work to identify opportunities to improve and update software and systems.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Stéphane was already working closely with us for 10 years as an engineer at IconSa, a Geneva IT solution provider company.
In his previous position, he built his professional experience working for various companies in various fields of activity, all around Geneva and Lausanne.
He constantly followed Microsoft trainings on information systems and IT security.
email address : s.papes[at]ifpma.org
Vanessa joined the IFPMA in January 2015. She covers policy affairs in relations to the Global Health affairs.
Vanessa holds a master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from University College London.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Vanessa worked at the Economist Intelligence Unit, where she was responsible for delivering economic, policy and business analysis and advisory services to clients across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Before that, Vanessa was a Senior Consultant at GHK Consulting, a public policy consultancy specializing in the evaluation of public projects and programs in the UK and Europe.
Edin Salkanovic joined IFPMA in October 2020 as an Ethics & Compliance Manager. Edin supports IFPMA on the implementation of the IFPMA Code of Practice and related workstreams in the Ethics & Business Integrity portfolio.
Prior to joining IFPMA, he worked at Celgene, a Bristol Myers Squibb company, as a Senior Legal Specialist. Before that, Edin held several compliance and legal functions in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Before engaging in the healthcare industry, Edin advised multinational companies active in Switzerland on Swiss immigration law and provided translation services to Swiss cantonal and federal authorities.
He holds an LLM in International and European Economic and Commercial Law from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and a Master of Laws from the University of Rijeka, Croatia.
Roxana Shakeri joined IFPMA in April 2017 as an administrative assistant and receptionist. Since July 2019 she has a new role as Personal Assistant to the Deputy Director General and COO, responsible for the day-to-day planning of the DDG office.
Roxana holds a Swiss Diploma in International Hotel Management from Hotel Institute Montreux, Switzerland.
Luka Šrot joined the IFPMA in March 2018, where he currently works as Assistant Manager in Global Health Policy. Initially, his primary role was to support IFPMA’s antimicrobial resistance (AMR) portfolio, and the work stream on ethics & business integrity. Since then, his work has centered on various global health policy topics, as well as specific cross-functional areas such as “vaccines for AMR” and digital health.
Luka holds a master’s degree in Pharmacy from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He completed part of his master thesis at the Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Netherlands. Before joining the IFPMA, he was heavily involved in the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF), where he spent a year in its executive committee as the Chairperson of the European Regional Office.
Go Takahashi is Japan Liaison Executive at IFPMA since May 2017. As member of the global health policy team, he facilitates coordination between the IFPMA and Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) on policy decisions and global health partnerships.
Go holds a PhD degree in pharmaceutical science. Prior to joining IFPMA, he has worked for SHIONOGI & CO., LTD for 11 years in Japan, most recently in its Business Development Department, Business Planning & Negotiation Group.
Paloma Tejada is Senior Strategic and Corporate Communications Manager. She joined IFPMA in July 2020 after having led the launch and development of Rare Diseases International, a global advocacy platform for rare disease patient organisations.
Paloma had previously been responsible for Communications at the European federation of rare disease patients (EURORDIS). There she launched the first Rare Disease Day growing it from a European patient awareness day to an international communications campaign that today mobilises all stakeholders in more than 90 countries.
Paloma began working in the field of global health in 2004 as a Programme Coordinator for Médecins du Monde’s international HIV/AIDS network. She has extensive experience working for non-governmental and international organisations in Europe, America and Asia.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Print Journalism from the American University in Washington DC, Paloma went on to complete a Master of Science in Development Management at the London School of Economics.
A dual Peruvian-French national, she grew up in Lima, lived in Washington DC, London and Paris. She has been based in Geneva since 2014.

