CLASSICA at the Life Sciences AI Summit 2025 in Brussels
Brussels, 25–26 March 2025 — The CLASSICA project was actively represented at the Life Sciences AI Summit – Europe, held at the NH Collection Brussels Grand Sablon. The Summit featured several contributions from CLASSICA partners, who explored key medical, ethical and legal questions surrounding the implementation of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
On the first day of the event, Prof. Sara Gerke (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) joined a panel discussion on “The Power of AI in Drug Discovery and Medical Device/Diagnostic Advancement,” focusing on how AI is shaping innovation while navigating legal and regulatory frameworks across major markets.
On the second day, Prof. Timo Minssen (University of Copenhagen) contributed to the session “IP Protections and AI Inventions in the Life Sciences: Navigating Complexities in the European Context,” examining intellectual property challenges for AI-driven technologies in Europe.
CLASSICA Case Study Session
On 26 March, CLASSICA hosted a dedicated case study titled “Bringing AI Into the Surgery Room: Medical, Ethical, and Legal Challenges.”
The session explored how CLASSICA’s AI tools are clinically and technically validated to support surgeons in real time, while also addressing broader regulatory, ethical and legal considerations related to medical AI.
The panel brought together several CLASSICA experts:
- Prof. Ronan Cahill, University College Dublin
- Prof. Alberto Arezzo, University of Torino
- Dr Emilia Niemiec, University of Copenhagen
- Assoc. Prof. David A. Simon, Northeastern University
- Samo Eržen, Senior Research Engineer, Arctur
Samo Eržen contributed insights from Arctur’s perspective as the project’s High-Performance Computing partner. He emphasised the role of close collaboration with surgeons, as Arctur’s engineering team supports system testing directly in the operating room to ensure the usability and clinical relevance of CLASSICA software.
Stakeholder Meeting and Broader Discussions
The Summit also hosted a CLASSICA stakeholder meeting, providing an opportunity for exchanges with policymakers, legal experts, MedTech companies, investors and international organisations. Discussions addressed data protection, AI regulation, clinical investigation requirements, and the evolving legal landscape for medical AI in Europe and the US.
These conversations provided valuable input for further CLASSICA research and helped clarify the regulatory context in which CLASSICA’s technologies will be used.