8:30 AM (PT)
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This is a three day course requiring attendance on all three days. The Business Development Fundamentals in-person course provides a foundation of the key skills that are required to execute a licensing transaction. With a focus on the biopharma industry, the course is taught by senior executives who have personal experience and expertise in transactional and intellectual property law; business development – both sell and buy sides; finance; alliance management; negotiation, and university technology transfer. Previous attendees include professionals from many international institutions. A sample of companies include: - Alkermes - NIH - American Society of Hematology - Gilead - Amgen - Merck National Taiwan University - Baylor College of Medicine - Novartis - Bluebird Biosciences - Queensland University of Technology - Biogen - Pfizer - Chinese University of Hong Kong - Sanofi - Eli Lilly - Takeda - Evotec - US Army Medical Research - Genentech Course Price: BIO Member: $2,550 Non-Memb ...Course - Additional Fee
8:30 AM (PT)
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This is a three day course requiring attendance on all three days. The Business Development Fundamentals in-person course provides a foundation of the key skills that are required to execute a licensing transaction. With a focus on the biopharma industry, the course is taught by senior executives who have personal experience and expertise in transactional and intellectual property law; business development – both sell and buy sides; finance; alliance management; negotiation, and university technology transfer. Previous attendees include professionals from many international institutions. A sample of companies include: - Alkermes - NIH - American Society of Hematology - Gilead - Amgen - Merck National Taiwan University - Baylor College of Medicine - Novartis - Bluebird Biosciences - Queensland University of Technology - Biogen - Pfizer - Chinese University of Hong Kong - Sanofi - Eli Lilly - Takeda - Evotec - US Army Medical Research - Genentech Course Price: BIO Member: $2,550 Non-Memb ...Course - Additional Fee
8:30 AM (PT)
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This is a three day course requiring attendance on all three days. The Business Development Fundamentals in-person course provides a foundation of the key skills that are required to execute a licensing transaction. With a focus on the biopharma industry, the course is taught by senior executives who have personal experience and expertise in transactional and intellectual property law; business development – both sell and buy sides; finance; alliance management; negotiation, and university technology transfer. Previous attendees include professionals from many international institutions. A sample of companies include: - Alkermes - NIH - American Society of Hematology - Gilead - Amgen - Merck National Taiwan University - Baylor College of Medicine - Novartis - Bluebird Biosciences - Queensland University of Technology - Biogen - Pfizer - Chinese University of Hong Kong - Sanofi - Eli Lilly - Takeda - Evotec - US Army Medical Research - Genentech Course Price: BIO Member: $2,550 Non-Memb ...Course - Additional Fee
9:00 AM (PT)
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This is a one day course requiring attendance for the entire course day. The "Product & Company Valuation" course is designed to teach a systematic approach to producing a valuation that can be used in investment rounds, mergers/acquisitions, licensing deals, or strategic development decisions in the pharma-biotech world. This introductory course is very valuable for pharma and biotech executives who are not familiar with compound and company valuations but need a thorough understanding of the valuation concepts and techniques that are commonly applied in the pharma and biotech industries. It goes beyond the number-crunching techniques of most consultants and includes difficult to define qualitative factors, which shape the risk profile of the company in question. This course optimally balances interactive lectures with practical group work exercises that are designed to help you practice the fundamental valuation tools & techniques taught throughout the day. Valuation is an inherently ...Course - Additional Fee
1:45 PM (PT)
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Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest challenges facing patients, health systems, and society, affecting over 55 million people worldwide. At the intersection of a growing public health crisis, capital pressures, and profound economic burden, the field is at a pivotal inflection point. Addressing it will require diversified investment strategies and cross-sector collaboration that accelerate scientific progress across the full research and development continuum. This panel convenes leaders from biotech, pharma, and philanthropy to examine how innovative science, strategic investment, and collaborative models can unlock the next wave of Alzheimer’s breakthroughs and accelerate progress toward conquering this disease once and for all.Breakout Session
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Business Development and Investment
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3:00 PM (PT)
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When Emerging Biopharma (EBP) companies consider globalization, what criteria guide their choice of markets to enter? In Japan, the evaluation of innovative new drugs has advanced significantly, creating an environment that is more open and attractive for startups and EBPs than ever before. Support from AMED, PMDA, and other government organizations has expanded, fostering new business opportunities through reforms in pharmaceutical regulations and drug pricing, improvements in clinical trial infrastructure, and increased opportunities for talent exchange and business matching. Japan now stands as a strategic gateway to Asia, especially for US and European startups. This session will share the latest updates and insights from Japan for entrepreneurs exploring opportunities in the Asian region.Breakout Session
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Emerging Opportunities in Global Markets
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HBO Max’s “The Last of Us" captivated audiences with its gripping portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a fungal infection. While fictional, the threat posed by fungal pathogens is real. Fungi are adapting to survive in extreme environments and developing resistance to the limited tools available, across human, animal, and environmental health. This panel brings together leaders from biotech, pharma, diagnostics and a venture capital fund to discuss how science, policy, and capital must align to advance antifungal innovation. Panelists will explore lessons learned from developing a novel antifungal class, the role of diagnostics, the value of strategic partnerships, and how One Health aligned strategies and innovative incentive mechanisms could reinvigorate the field.Breakout Session
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Infectious Disease and Vaccines
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The financing and partnering environment for biotech has shifted significantly in recent years. Investors and partners have increasingly prioritized tangible, de-risked assets that offer compelling therapeutic differentiation and a product roadmap. As a result, the “product-first” model dominates, where clear positioning, validated biology, and a defined regulatory and commercial path are essential to secure financing or partnership interest. Yet companies that can balance a near-term, product-focused strategy with the broader potential of their pipeline are emerging as success stories. Attendees will hear how these companies show that a focused lead asset and a thoughtfully developed pipeline are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing. Their ability to communicate both an immediate value proposition and a credible path to future growth is reshaping how investors assess risk and opportunity in early-stage and emerging biotech ventures.Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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Since 2023, the China biotech industry has made great advancements in therapeutic innovation. Initially, innovation was predominantly in oncology; however, since 2025 we have seen more and more projects in the therapeutic areas of immunology, neurology, ophthalmology and obesity. China is one of the frontrunners incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into drug discovery, which strengthens and elevates their potential to drive even more biopharmaceutical innovation. This panel will address the current speed of innovation and provide predictions on how the future will unfold. Venture capital investors, CEOs and strategy experts will elaborate on their latest thinking and how to act on it.Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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4:30 PM (PT)
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Company Presentation
Azafaros is a company building a portfolio to become a leader in lysosomal storage disorders with the goal of addressing neurological symptoms. It is a clinical-stage company, founded in 2018 with a deep understanding of rare genetic disease mechanisms using compound discoveries made by scientists at Leiden University and Amsterdam UMC, and is led by a team of highly experienced industry experts. Azafaros aims to build a pipeline of disease-modifying therapeutics to offer new treatment options to patients and their families. By applying its knowledge, network and courage, the Azafaros team challenges traditional development pathways to rapidly bring new drugs to the rare disease patients who need them. Azafaros is supported by a syndicate of leading healthcare investors including Forbion, Jeito Capital, Seroba, Pictet Group, BioGeneration Ventures (BGV), BioMedPartners, Asahi Kasei Pharma Ventures, and Schroders Capital.Company Presentation-
Orphan and Rare Disease
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10:45 AM (PT)
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Company Presentation
NanoSyrinx is a discovery-stage synthetic biology company specialising in the intracellular delivery of protein therapeutics using our nano-scale, cell-specific delivery technology - the Nanosyringe. We can package a wide range of payloads, from short peptides to large enzymes, into Nanosyringes then deliver these into target cells with antibody-equivalent specificity. This allows us to tackle intracellular targets which are challenging to drug using other approaches. NanoSyrinx has raised >$20M to date and is backed by a consortium of top tier investors, including M Ventures, Eli Lilly, BGF and Octopus Ventures.Company Presentation- Multiple Therapeutics
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Company Presentation
Montara Therapeutics is a San Francisco-based precision medicine neuroscience biotech developing safer, more efficacious therapies for patients with neurological diseases. Many promising brain drug candidates fail due to serious side effects outside the brain. Our BrainOnly™ platform solves this by pairing a brain-targeted treatment with a "blocker" drug that confines therapeutic activity to the brain, enhancing safety, expanding therapeutic index, and unlocking previously inaccessible targets. The science originated in Kevan Shokat's lab at UCSF. Our lead program targets Tuberous Sclerosis Complex with an IND filing targeted for Q1 2027. Our second program targets Parkinson's disease via our BrainTAC™ technology, supported by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. With broad CNS applicability, BrainOnly™ holds the potential to deliver a new generation of brain-targeted therapeutics. Montara has raised $28M from Two Bear Capital, the Dementia Discovery Fund, KdT Ventures, and others.Company Presentation-
Brain Health
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11:00 AM (PT)
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Company Presentation
Vibrant Therapeutics is a clinical stage company focused on neurological disease, oncology and immunology. We have recently secured additional $61M funding led by Pfizer Ventures. We have developed a proprietary differentiated transcytosis-based BBB-shuttle technology for antibody- and RNA-based payloads. We have 2 lead antibody-based assets for neurological disease, with outstanding NHP data demonstrating best-in-class brain PK and safety, whose IND filing is expected within the next 6-9 months. We have also generated in-vivo data on siRNA brain delivery and subsequent substantial knock-down of the target mRNA in different brain regions after i.v. administration.Company Presentation- Brain Health
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11:10 AM (PT)
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Chiromesh Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing innovative solutions for localized, sustained drug delivery in solid tumors. The company’s lead platform, μMESH, is a conformable, micro-structured polymeric film designed to deliver advanced therapies directly at the diseased tissue. By adapting to complex anatomical sites and maintaining close contact with surrounding tissue, μMESH enables uniform, deep and prolonged drug exposure while minimizing systemic toxicity. μMESH is engineered from biodegradable, clinically established polymers and manufactured using scalable technologies. Its unique micro-structured architecture allows controlled, sustained release of a broad range of therapeutic agents, including small molecules, biologics (peptides, antibodies, oncolytic viruses), and nanomedicines, over weeks to months. Designed for use during surgical procedures, μMESH can be placed directly at the tumor surface or, post-resection, within the tumor cavity, bypassing biological ...Start-Up Stadium Session-
Oncology
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1:45 PM (PT)
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Precision medicine has transformed oncology, but the next wave is unfolding in new therapeutic areas. The expansion into new areas promises enormous impact, yet the path forward is not straightforward. Outside of oncology, patient populations are more heterogeneous, biomarkers less validated, and regulatory and payor expectations less defined. Unlike oncology, where validated genetic drivers define patient groups, chronic and brain health conditions often lack clear biological anchors. This session will examine the big-picture opportunities and roadblocks for precision medicine’s expansion. Panelists will explore the evolving regulatory framework, payer readiness, and the tools - ranging from digital diagnostics to AI - that could enable precision care at scale. The discussion will draw lessons from oncology’s playbook while highlighting the unique considerations that must be addressed to translate precision into practice across new therapeutic domains.Breakout Session
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Diagnostics and Personalized Medicine
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This data-driven session from BIO and its market intelligence partner, Norstella, will dive into the state of play for emerging biotech companies. From venture capital and public financing, deal-making trends, and dynamics within the R&D pipeline, the panel will cover many of the themes that are most relevant to biotechs as they reach value inflection points, seek investment, and bring novel therapies closer to patients. Amid continued market suppression and new sources of competition, the challenge – and societal need – for a healthy innovative biotech ecosystem is greater than ever.Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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As companies prepare for shifts in the workforce, discovery of novel targets, and moving towards the development of personalized medicine, technological advancements can improve processes, shorten R&D timelines, and expand the patient populations served. Decision makers hope to shift capital and resources to solve problems efficiently, optimize healthcare delivery, and ensure appropriate treatment of unmet needs. While the promise of AI is expansive, this conversation provides an opportunity to hear from executives in the industry to review what has and has not worked and how to include as many stakeholders as possible to fund, develop, and commercialize medicines that serve the needs of more people effectively and safely.Breakout Session
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Workforce, Health Equity, and Leadership
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2:20 PM (PT)
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Voro Therapeutics is a privately held biotechnology company based in San Diego, spun out of Alloy Therapeutics’ 82VS Venture Studio. The company’s PrimeBody platform is a best-in-class conditionally-activated biologics technology that delivers systemic therapy with tissue-specific activation, achieving safe and durable anti-tumor responses. Voro’s lead asset, the first Fc-enhanced, high-affinity CD47 blocker, shows curative activity without the historical safety or exposure limitations of this target and is advancing through IND-enabling studies. Applicable to cytokines, TCEs, and ADCs, PrimeBody supports a diversified pipeline in oncology and immunology. Voro is led by experienced drug developers with deep expertise in conditionally-activated therapeutics.Start-Up Stadium Session- Oncology
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3:00 PM (PT)
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AI-enabled discovery and multimodal, human-centric datasets are reshaping how biopharma and digital health companies differentiate, partner, and scale. Rather than focusing on capital trends, this session will highlight practical approaches to monetizing proprietary data and AI platforms, meeting rising standards for data quality, privacy, and model transparency, and accelerating translational and clinical readiness. During this panel, venture investors, experienced operators, and regulatory, licensing and IP experts share a pragmatic playbook for building durable partnerships and navigating commercialization across global life science ecosystems — a conversation that will benefit both investors and AI enabled companies alike. Speakers will emphasize how investors and serial entrepreneurs can position AI driven ventures to stand out through deliberate licensing strategies, defensible data ownership and IP frameworks, and early alignment with global regulatory expectations.Breakout Session
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AI and Digital Health
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Women’s health is now a dynamic arena for innovation, data science, and strategic capital deployment. This session brings together leading investors to discuss where smart capital is flowing and how science, data, and market infrastructure are driving measurable returns. Speakers will outline how investors identify enduring value, structure partnerships, and capture growth across this rapidly maturing field.Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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11:00 AM (PT)
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As diagnostics and precision medicine continue to advance, companies developing novel diagnostic technologies, analytical tools, and data-enabled testing solutions are reshaping how disease is detected, stratified, and monitored. Yet these companies often face unique challenges in capital formation. This session brings together investors, entrepreneurs, strategic corporate partners, and non-dilutive funding leaders to examine how financing strategies for diagnostics and precision medicine are evolving in response to these challenges. Panelists will explore how venture, strategic, and public capital assess diagnostic companies across stages, highlighting differences in capital efficiency, timelines, and risk profiles compared to drug development. Attendees will gain practical insights into how diagnostics companies are being financed today, what investors look for at different stages of growth, and how founders can navigate capital formation in a rapidly evolving innovation landscape.Breakout Session
- Diagnostics and Personalized Medicine
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The 36th edition of EY’s Beyond Borders Biotechnology Report provides an in-depth look at the US and European biotech industry as the operating and regulatory ecosystem is undergoing dramatic changes. There are tectonic shifts in pricing due to Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing and IRA, FDA policy shifts, NIH funding uncertainties, and supply chain implications due to tariff policies. However, the industry is showing solid innovation, which fuels M&A alliances and venture capital investment. In 2025 the M&A value was $149B up 65% from 2024 and this momentum may carry forward in 2026. This session looks to explore all these topics, and more!Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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11:15 AM (PT)
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Company Presentation
Kernal Bio is a VC-backed biotech company pioneering in vivo CAR-T therapies. We harness selective mRNA-LNP technology to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases with precision—ensuring targeted delivery and minimizing off-target effects. Our KR-402 program achieves over 90% delivery efficiency with T-cell-targeted LNPs, enabling direct CAR-T programming inside the body and resulting in B-cell depletion within one week. Kernal Bio is led by a team with deep expertise from Merck, BMS, MIT, and Harvard, with three FDA-approved therapies and over 120 patents to our name. Based in Boston, MA, we’re backed by Hummingbird Ventures, Amgen, Lilly, HBM, and NVIDIA. In addition to $30M in VC funding, we’ve recently secured $48M in non-dilutive funding to advance our in vivo CAR-T programs.Company Presentation-
Cell and Gene Therapy and Genome Editing
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11:20 AM (PT)
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Coastar Therapeutics is a venture-backed biotech firm headquartered in San Diego, CA, dedicated to advancing next-generation gene delivery technology. The company has developed a novel eLNP technology incorporating the cell membrane for systemic non-viral gene delivery. The company also has a novel ENHEnS technology that can coat human cell membrane on each individual virus to evade immune system recognition and clearance. Coastar is employing this cutting-edge platform to challenge the realms of CAR-T therapy and CRISPR gene editing. With its low toxicity and precision targeting features, the company is exploring in vivo therapy, potentially reducing treatment costs by a factor of 10, starting with in vivo CAR-T therapy and progressing to in vivo gene editing. The company is a JLABS resident and participates NYU endless frontier labs accelerator.Start-Up Stadium Session- Cell and Gene Therapy and Genome Editing
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11:30 AM (PT)
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153 Therapeutics is a UCSF spinout developing a novel small-molecule therapy for Parkinson’s Disease. The approach targets Nurr1, a nuclear receptor that plays a central role in restoring dopamine production and reducing neuro-inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain. A disease model study showed strong and statistically significant treatment responses, and further optimization has produced a lead compound with a favorable pharmacology and safety profiles. Progress to date has been funded by the NIH, UCSF’s Innovation Ventures program, and the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.Start-Up Stadium Session- Brain Health
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Company Presentation
CytoHub: Transforming Cardiac Development CytoHub is an AI-driven cardiac biology platform company delivering human-relevant models and predictive insights that de-risk and accelerate cardiac drug and digital health development. The company generates revenue today through CardioVive and BioEngineAI, serving biopharma, digital health, and advanced research partners with earlier, more reliable decisions in cardiac discovery, safety, and translation. CytoHub selectively advances therapeutics through platform leverage. HeartReady is being transitioned into Cardia Therapeutics, a separately capitalized subsidiary or joint venture, preserving platform focus while isolating clinical and regulatory risk.Company Presentation- Cardiovascular
11:45 AM (PT)
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Company Presentation
Nuevocor is a biotechnology company developing novel therapies for genetic cardiomyopathies driven by aberrant mechanobiology, headquartered in Singapore with offices in the U.S. and Europe. In 2025, Nuevocor closed a US$50 million financing from Kurma Partners, Angelini Ventures, EDBI, ClavystBio, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Coronet Ventures and Highlight Capital. Our unique approach, enabled by our proprietary PrOSIA mechanobiology platform, surpasses the limitations of traditional gene replacement therapy – which treats individual gene mutations – to treating defects in shared disease pathways across multiple cardiomyopathies by addressing the functional root cause of disease. Nuevocor is first-in-disease by addressing genetic cardiomyopathies that are not amendable to gene replacement therapy and have no effective treatment options.Company Presentation- Cardiovascular
12:15 PM (PT)
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Super SessionSaudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as one of the most compelling pharmaceutical and biotech markets globally. This session brings together global and local industry leaders to explore the deal structures, partnership models, and strategic alignments driving the Kingdom's sector growth from co-development and licensing to technology transfer and joint ventures. Panelists will examine how priorities are evolving, and what it takes to turn partnerships into scalable, lasting value. Real-world success stories will illustrate how Saudi Arabia is cementing its position as a global hub for biotech innovation. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of where the most promising partnership opportunities lie, what makes deals succeed in the Saudi market, and how to position their organizations to compete and collaborate in one of the region's fastest-growing sectors.Super Session
- Emerging Opportunities in Global Markets
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12:30 PM (PT)
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Sculpta, Inc. is a San Francisco based startup founded by physician scientist and former Stanford faculty member Neal Amin. Sculpta is pioneering Protein Sculpting therapeutics, splice-switching antisense oligonucleotides that change the structure and function of disease-causing proteins in the brain. Sculpta's single cell-resolution Human RNA Splicing Atlas uniquely enables isoform-level target discovery and won the top prize at the 2025 Alnylam BioVenture Challenge.Start-Up Stadium Session- Brain Health
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1:45 PM (PT)
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Oncology continues to be the leading therapeutic area across the biopharma industry by almost all measures, including global drug sales, number of pipeline programs, venture capital dollar deployment, business development activity, and number of drug approvals. Innovation within the oncology pipeline continues to flourish, with novel mechanisms helping counteract the impending loss of exclusivity for several of today’s leading products. But where do industry leaders anticipate future investment to be heading? How are trends in discovery, development, commercialization, and business development impacting how large, mid-size, and small biopharma approach opportunities in oncology? A panel of experts will discuss what the industry can expect in oncology for the remainder of 2026 and beyond.Breakout Session
- Oncology
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This session will explore ARPA-H’s unique SBIR/STTR funding opportunities and the distinctive commercialization support designed to propel breakthrough companies forward. Attendees will hear firsthand from ARPA-H funded small business performers about their experiences leveraging tailored industry experts and acceleration services to drive their ideas from early-product to patient impact. The discussion will provide an insider’s view from investors on navigating market success in a rapidly evolving sector, including how to combine sources of capital in a challenging environment. Expect to leave with practical strategies and fresh perspectives on ARPA-H’s small business program, open funding opportunities, and the dynamic support ecosystem designed to maximize entrepreneurial impact in health innovation. This program provides an onramp to broader agency initiatives, seeding new ideas, and accelerating solutions that advance ARPA-H's mission.Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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3:00 PM (PT)
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This panel discussion addresses a critical paradox in biotechnology investment - while female-founded biotech’s demonstrate superior returns, they receive less than 3% of venture funding. This session features four pioneering founders currently building transformative "zero-to-one" companies - those creating entirely new market categories rather than competing in existing spaces. Panelists represent diverse biotech innovations spanning hibernation-based therapeutics, non-invasive vital sign monitoring, epigenetic gene therapies, and gravity-agnostic biotools. This session provides data-driven insights into the funding landscape while delivering actionable strategies for investors, a roadmap from the bench to the boardroom for scientists, understanding emerging technologies that could disrupt traditional approaches for industry veterans, and tactical advice to entrepreneurs from fellow founders building in the hardest environment.Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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For decades, autoimmune disease therapy has been defined by one trade-off - suppressing the immune system to relieve symptoms. That paradigm is now breaking. The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine was awarded for discoveries illuminating how the body maintains immune balance, recognizing decades of research already embedded in novel breakthrough therapeutics in development. From cell therapies inducing drug-free remission in lupus to antigen-specific approaches reprogramming pathogenic memory, the science of immune tolerance - especially through enhancing Tregs - is rapidly shifting from theoretical ambition to a clinical reality. This panel will convene leaders across biotech, pharma, and venture capital to explore how the Immunology & Inflammation field is advancing toward tolerance, how the Nobel-recognized science of immune equilibrium is reshaping R&D strategy, and what investors and partners are watching for as new therapeutic approaches redefine the future of immune medi ...Breakout Session
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Next Generation Biotherapeutics
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4:00 PM (PT)
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Company Presentation
AstronauTx’s is targeting sleep architecture as a therapeutic approach to treat neurological disease. Our thesis is that changes in sleep architecture underpin disease and that sleep is a modifiable risk factor for chronic neurodegeneration. By improving slow wave sleep quality, we aim to slow cognitive decline associated with aging and dementia. Our approach is grounded in a combination of well-defined, quantifiable biological endpoints, such as EEG-based sleep architecture metrics and measurable improvements in cognitive function and glymphatic flow. Founded by SV Health’s Dementia Discovery Fund, AstronauTx completed a £48 million/$61 million Series A financing in October 2023, led by the Novartis Venture Fund, with participation from SV’s Dementia Discovery Fund, MPM BioImpact, Brandon Capital, EQT Life Sciences and Bristol Myers Squibb.Company Presentation- Brain Health
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4:15 PM (PT)
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Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a widely used label across biotech companies positioning platforms for drug discovery and development. However, what truly defines an AI-marketed platform today goes beyond the presence of advanced algorithms or biological claims. As the industry enters 2026, the central challenge is no longer whether AI can support innovation, but which AI platforms can demonstrate clear return on investment, commercial credibility, and scalability as services for biomedical development that customers are willing to pay for. This session will bring together AI-biotech founders, AI economics experts, and investors to examine what distinguishes successful AI platforms that are marketed and adopted as revenue-generating services rather than as internal programs. Panelists will explore the attributes that enable AI platforms to move from pilot studies to repeat customers, including validation of real-world performance, integration into existing R&D and clinical work ...Breakout Session
- AI and Digital Health
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Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, with a person dying every 34 seconds from cardiovascular disease, claiming almost one million American lives every year and accounting for one in every three deaths. For decades, treatment has centered on symptom management and slowing disease progression rather than reversing damage. But the next generation of innovative approaches is challenging the notion that cardiac injury is irreversible, showing that the heart can be repaired, not just supported, by addressing the genetic and molecular drivers of disease itself. This discussion will spotlight the science, novel approaches and new targets driving the next generation of cardiovascular therapies, where the goal is not merely to extend life, but to restore the vitality and resilience of the human heart.Breakout Session
- Next Generation Biotherapeutics
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Venture capital funding specifically for women’s health biotech and pharmaceuticals has undergone a significant transformation since 2023. While the broader "Women's Health" category is often dominated by "Femtech" (apps, digital platforms, and medical devices), the women’s health biopharma sub-sector is seeing results and advancing assets into the clinic. Join this session to hear about exciting developments in women’s health therapeutics, new partnership models and challenges developers face when researching some of the toughest challenges in women’s health.Breakout Session
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Patient Advocacy
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9:00 AM (PT)
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This session brings together leaders from early-to-late-stage biotech’s and the investment community to explore practical frameworks for transforming early-stage discoveries into development-ready therapeutic assets. Panelists will share concrete examples of early scientific work that has successfully evolved into new biotech companies, illustrating how thoughtful program design, early validation strategies, and milestone-driven execution can bridge the translational gap. The discussion will highlight how effective collaboration models and clear development roadmaps help reduce scientific, operational, and investment risk. Attendees will gain actionable insights into de-risking early-stage science, structuring productive partnerships, and aligning innovation with the expectations of industry and investors to accelerate the path from discovery to real-world therapeutic impact.Breakout Session
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Translational Research
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In an increasingly selective capital environment, a handful of biotechs have managed to defy the odds—closing $100 million-plus financing rounds that fueled major growth, platform expansion, and pipeline acceleration. What separates these companies from the rest? What messages, metrics, and milestones resonate most with investors in today’s market? This session brings together biotech executives who have each raised $100M+ rounds to share the behind-the-scenes stories of how they did it—what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently next time. From crafting a compelling narrative and building investor confidence to navigating syndicate dynamics and valuation pressure, the discussion will offer actionable insights for founders preparing their next raise.Breakout Session
- Business Development and Investment
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Over the past five decades, the Langer Lab has played a central role in shaping modern biotechnology—founding more than 40 companies and training over 1,000 scientists, many of whom are now professors across ~400 institutions globally and have collectively launched hundreds of additional ventures. What explains this level of sustained innovation and company creation—and can it be replicated? In this discussion, Robert S. Langer, Michael Langer, and Alborz Madhavi will examine the principles behind this ecosystem—from cultivating curiosity and interdisciplinary thinking to consistently translating breakthrough science into capital-efficient companies. The conversation will look forward, not just back—exploring how AI, new company creation models, and increasingly global networks are redefining the path from academic discovery to real-world impact.Breakout Session
- Next Generation Biotherapeutics
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10:15 AM (PT)
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The path from academic discovery to patient impact has never been more complex. Federal funding shifts, market turbulence, and evolving expectations for commercialization are challenging traditional models of university tech transfer. Yet these pressures are also driving fresh approaches to how institutions partner, de-risk early science, and connect with industry and investors. This session convenes leading translational and academic innovation experts to share how top universities are reimagining models of partnership and entrepreneurship to ensure innovation thrives despite uncertainty. Panelists from MIT, Penn, Yale, and Brown will explore strategies for aligning institutional incentives, strengthening university–industry collaboration, and building regionally connected ecosystems that move discoveries from lab to market faster.Breakout Session
- Translational Research
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11:10 AM (PT)
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Bullseye has built a fully automated engine to create medicines that unlock targets and diseases the biopharma industry has written off as impossible and “undruggable.” By harnessing biology’s most proven and powerful technology, evolution, with automation and AI scale data generation, they can go from screen to an orally bioavailable macrocycle in < 9 months — overcoming previous scientific barriers and at a speed few technologies can match. Backed by Illumina Ventures and BARDA with a top-tier advisory board, this is a truly differentiated platform and team aimed at a massive, largely untapped opportunity of >$400B.Start-Up Stadium Session- Tools/Drug Development Support Tech
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