Views on the development of patenting in the pharmaceutical and AI fields were exchanged at the plenary session by:

• Kristina Hambaryan, Head of the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia,
• Elena Usacheva, First Deputy Director General of the National Institute of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Belarus,
• Aibek Chotonov, First Deputy Minister of Science, Higher Education and Innovation of the Kyrgyz Republic,
• Yury Zubov, head of the Federal Intellectual Property Service (Rospatent),
• Parviz Rajabzoda, Deputy Director of the National Patent and Information Center of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Vice Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Botagoz Zhakselekova noted the strategic importance of the pharmaceutical sector for the country:

“Kazakhstan considers the pharmaceutical sector as a strategic area where it is important to ensure both the protection of exclusive rights and stimulate innovation, support research projects, and create favorable conditions for the emergence of new technologies and modern solutions in healthcare.”

She focused particularly on the advancement of AI technology and digital transformation:

“The head of State emphasized that we must modernize the economy through large-scale digitalization and the active implementation of AI technology, and the first step should be the adoption of the Digital Code,” Botagoz Zhakselekova said.

EAPO President Grigory Ivliev discussed the significance of patents in the pharmaceutical industry:

“For many years, the largest number of Eurasian applications have been filed for inventions related to organic chemistry, medicines, and pharmaceuticals. Intellectual property protection does not reduce, but rather facilitates the availability of effective drugs by encouraging developers to create new pharmaceutical substances and drugs.”

He also mentioned the rising demand for AI patents:

“AI is becoming an infrastructure technology rather than highly specialized tool. Patent protection for IT innovation having an AI component will become a crucial tool for supporting researchers in science, technology, and industry.”