Building Bridges for Medicines Justice: Law and Civil Society Engagement for Access & Innovation

Join us for this in-person conference organised by Law for Health and Life at the University of Amsterdam on 28–29 October 2025 at De Brug, Roeterseilandcampus, Amsterdam.

This conference tackles one of the most pressing global challenges—medicines justice—ensuring sustainable and equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable medicines. Through a human rights lens, we will critically examine how law, regulation, and policy shape pharmaceutical access across national, European, and global landscapes.

Why attend?

• Deep Dive into Law & Policy: Explore how legal frameworks impact medicines justice, from fair pricing to corporate accountability.

• Interdisciplinary Insights: Engage with experts across law, governance, public policy, economics, sociology, medicine, and global health.

• Real-World Impact: Hear from policymakers, advocates, and civil society working on the frontlines of pharmaceutical governance.

• Collaborative Solutions: Shape the future of equitable access through interactive discussions and knowledge-sharing.

This conference builds on 50 years of academic and civil society research on equitable access to medicines to chart a path forward. Expect keynotes, panel discussions, case studies, and interactive workshops designed to build bridges and drive meaningful change.

Join the conversation and help shape the future of medicines justice.

See our call for papers for details on themes and topics.

Why ‘Building Bridges’?

Building bridges - the theme of this conference – is critical to progressing towards medicines justice.

First, through its ‘law in society’ approach, this conference will connect law with other disciplines to critique the role, function, and transformative potential of law, regulation and policy in terms of access to medicines. Insights from governance studies, public policy, regulatory science, political science, sociology, economics, and public/global health, among other fields, have been pivotal in adopting more equitable and sustainable laws, regulations and policies.

Second, by convening key stakeholders, this conference will strengthen connections between researchers, policymakers, advocates, and communities of practice (e.g., lawyers, health professionals, and patients). It seeks to build on research by academics and civil society that has been critical to understanding how pharmaceutical laws, regulation and policies are functioning in practice, highlight needed reforms and pathways for effective governance, and contribute the evidence and arguments to achieve those changes.