The opening plenary session will take place 26 March 2012 at 14:00. Morten Østergaard, Danish Minister for Research, Innovation and Higher Education will give a welcome address. A plenary discussion will follow on "Ethical Practices in the Pharmaceutical Sector" with a focus on off-label use and access and availability of medicines.

The discussion will be moderated by Marc-Christoph Wagner, a German journalist who will lead a panel of distinguished participants, including:

Nicola Bedlington, Director, European Patients’ Forum, Belgium

Hazel Biggs, Professor of Health Care Law and Bioethics; Co-Director HEAL (Health Ethics and Law), Academic, Pathways2Law; Editor-in-chief, Medical Law Review, School of Law, University of Southampton, UK

David Brennan, CEO, AstraZeneca, UK

Nikos Dedes, Representative, European AIDS Treatment Group, Greece

Liselotte Højgaard, Chair EMRC, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine & PET, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Guido Rasi, Executive Director, European Medicines Agency, EU

Lars Rebien Sørensen, President and CEO, Novo Nordisk, Denmark