Meeting the Moment(s): A New Playbook to Accelerate Biotech Innovation

The biotech ecosystem is navigating real headwinds — tighter capital, increasingly complex science, and an increasingly unforgiving path from discovery to clinic. But pressure also creates openings. The most consequential decisions in drug development — target selection, platform bets, modality choices — happen years before a traditional pharma partnership gets structured. A new collaboration model is emerging that meets founders at those earlier inflection points: not just as a future acquirer, but as a genuine scientific partner. This session brings together biotech founders, investors, and pharma external innovation leadership to explore what earlier, more substantive pharma engagement looks like in practice — and what biotech stands to gain: network access, institutional expertise, and a faster path through development complexity, at the moments that matter most.