AGENDA

Conference Registration (Salon B)

Welcome Reception and Dinner (Franklin Study)

Thursday, April 30

Networking Breakfast & Registration (Salon B)

rEVOLUTION Symposium Welcome Remarks (Salon A)

Fireside Chat with Congressman Jake Auchincloss
A conversation with Jake Auchincloss, Congressman from the Massachusetts Fourth. Moderated by Steve Usdin, Washington Editor & Head of Policy & Regulation, BioCentury.

Representative Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) joins BioCentury Senior Editor Steve Usdin for a candid discussion of the intersection of politics, policy and science. Auchincloss, a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee, has been a leading voice in Congress promoting biomedical innovation and calling for independent, science-based regulation. He will discuss his perspective on the impacts of recent changes at FDA, NIH and other public health agencies, and his agenda going into the mid-term elections and beyond.

Moderator:
Steve Usdin, BioCentury

From Insight to Impact: How R&D Leaders Will Source and Translate the Next Wave of Innovation Panel
Scientific insights and opportunity in biopharma are expanding at an unprecedented pace. For R&D leaders, the challenge is identifying which insights truly matter – and translating them into scalable, differentiated medicines. This panel brings together senior R&D leaders to discuss where the most consequential breakthroughs are emerging, how pharma R&D leaders think about the balance between internal and external innovation, and models for early-stage collaboration with biotechs, venture capital firms, and academia.

Moderator:
Chris Austin, M.D., GlaxoSmithKline

Panelists:
Pablo Cagnoni, M.D., Incyte
Howard Chang, M.D., Ph.D. Amgen
Karin Conde-Knape, Ph.D., Valo Health
John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson

Networking Break

R&D in a New World Order Panel
Pharma R&D is being reshaped in real time. Capital discipline, pricing pressure, geopolitical fragmentation, scientific acceleration, and new competitors are forcing hard strategic choices and tough board decisions.

In this candid conversation, heads of R&D will confront the dominant forces driving portfolio strategy today—and what’s pushing pharma into new therapeutic areas, modalities, and business models. How are companies rethinking risk, development priorities, and organizational design? In a globalized but increasingly fragmented ecosystem, where does the work get done—and how should it be structured? And are emerging commercial models unlocking entirely new innovation paths? A forward-looking discussion on how leading R&D organizations are reinventing their innovation engines for a more complex, constrained, and opportunity-rich era.

Moderator:
Keith Gottesdiener, M.D, Prime Medicine

Panelists:
Paola Casarosa, Ph.D., Boehringer Ingelheim
Robert Plenge, M.D., Ph.D., Bristol Myers Squibb
Christian Rommel, Ph.D., Bayer Pharmaceuticals

Networking Lunch (Salon B)

Fireside Chat with Richard Pazdur, M.D. (Salon A)
Over a career at the FDA spanning more than 25 years, Richard Pazdur helped transform oncology drug development, pioneering regulatory pathways that kept pace with scientific advances and ensured that it reached patients. As director of the Oncology Center of Excellence and, briefly, of CDER, he has had a front-row seat to the agency’s recent upheaval. In a fireside chat with BioCentury Senior Editor Steve Usdin, Pazdur will reflect on FDA’s current trajectory and the future of oncology drug development.

Moderator:
Steve Usdin, BioCentury

Fireside Chat with John Brooks
A conversation with John Brooks Deputy Administrator and the Chief Policy and Regulatory Officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Moderated by Elliott Levy, MD, Venture Partner at 5AM Ventures.

John Brooks joins Elliott Levy for a timely discussion at the intersection of policy and innovation. This fireside chat will unpack how the current administration is reshaping drug pricing and access, from its strategy on IRA price negotiations and the potential for policy evolution, to the implications of Most Favored Nation pricing, tariffs, and new CMS demonstration models. Expect a candid look at what these shifts mean for industry strategy, patient access, and the future of the U.S. healthcare market.

Afternoon Break

Shuttle Departs for Dinner (Lobby)

Networking Reception (Spy Museum)

Dinner and Programming

Keynote Discussion
A conversation with Chris Miller, Author of the Award-Winning Book, Chip War; Assistant Professor, The Fletcher School; Director, Greenmantle.

Dessert and Networking

Shuttle Departs for Hotel

Friday, May 1

Networking Breakfast and Registration (Salon B)

rEVOLUTION Symposium Welcome Back (Salon A)

China’s Emergence as a Major Exporter of Biopharmaceutical Innovation Panel
Chinese biopharmaceutical companies now drive more than 25% of the global drug development pipeline, leveraging efficiencies in target characterization, candidate engineering, manufacturing, and clinical study execution. This panel will explore how innovation in China will redefine the value-creation strategies of global biopharma over the next decade.

Moderator:
Josie Zhou, Ph.D., McKinsey & Company

Panelists:
Azad Bonni, M.D., Ph.D., Roche
Bing Chen, AstraZeneca
Michael Quigley Ph.D., Sanofi
Ken Song, M.D., Candid Therapeutics

Networking Break

AI in Drug Discovery: Separating Signal from Science Fiction
Artificial intelligence has become one of the most potentially transformative – and most over-promised – forces in drug discovery. From hopes that AI will “cure every disease in a decade” to visions of fully autonomous drug discovery, the hype can at times drown out the hard scientific realities.

In this candid, expert-led discussion, leaders at the intersection of AI, biology, and drug development will explore what AI is genuinely capable of today—and what it may realistically unlock in the years ahead. Moderated by Fiona Marshall, the panel will explore how AI can deepen our understanding of human biology, improve target identification, shaping small molecule and biologics design, and the emerging reality of autonomous labs.

The conversation will also address our collective responsibility, across biotech and the broader innovation ecosystem, to balance bold ambition with scientific realism when communicating the potential, timelines, and real-world limits of AI.

Moderator:
Fiona Marshall, Ph.D., Novartis

Panelists:
Daphne Koller, Ph.D., insitro
Andy Plump, M.D., Ph.D., Takeda
Sarah Skerratt, Ph.D. Isomorphic Labs
Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Ph.D., Xaira

Break

Lunch & Fireside Chat with Chuck Todd (Salon B)
A conversation with Chuck Todd, Former Chief Political Analyst at NBC, Moderator of Meet the Press from 2014-2023.

Conclusion