The Judging Process

The LSPN Awards USA has recruited a team of independent, external judges which will be updated each year to ensure a diverse range of in-depth expertise in life sciences and intellectual property.

All judges are required to maintain confidentiality regarding submitted information and the winners, and must declare that they have no conflicts of interest prior to judging. The full list of judges will be published after the judging process is completed to ensure transparency, as any attempts to influence the judges will result in immediate disqualification.

Not all judges will assess every category. Groups of judges are assigned categories based on their specific market knowledge, with care taken to avoid conflicts of interest. Each group of judges has no access to the submissions or results of categories they are not involved in judging.

Judges will review and analyze each submission, scoring them based on a numerical system and providing justification for their decisions. For certain categories, once scores are submitted, the judges will convene to discuss the top contenders, selecting one winner and one highly commended entrant per category. The winner and highly commended entrants will be announced at the prestigious LSPN Awards ceremony on May 6th in Boston.

Judges confirmed for 2025:

David Gindler, Partner, Orrick

Karen Martin, Senior Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Ipsen

Mark Stewart, Vice President, Global IP Litigation, Merck

Barbara Fiaco, Partner, Co-Chair, Patent, Trade Secrets & Related Rights Litigation Practice and Intellectual Property Department, Foley Hoag

Stephen Johnson, Director, Patent Prosecution, Verve Therapeutics

Eldora Ellison, Director, Sterne Kessler

Baron Armah-Kwantreng, Rankings Editor, World IP Review

Jennifer Burdman, Managing Director, Sauvegarder Investment Management