Everyone loves the “magic” of AI, but how do you actually make it work inside a real company? In this opening fireside chat, we pull back the curtain on the three things you need to move beyond the hype.

Doctors are drowning in data but starving for answers. In the split second when a treatment decision is made, they need quick syntheses. This panel explores the rapid rise of “Clinical Co-Pilots” like OpenEvidence, which are transforming the workflow by delivering cited, evidence-based answers directly at the point of care. We will discuss how this shift from “searching” to “answering” is changing clinical behavior, and how brands can show up in these critical moments as helpful partners rather than interruptions.

The days of the “ivory tower” physician are fading. A new generation of healthcare professionals is picking up cameras to combat misinformation, demystify complex science, and build massive digital communities. But this isn’t just about “likes”—it is a fundamental shift in how patients consume health information and how peers influence one another.

In this intimate fireside chat, Gina Morris sits down with Dr. Ali Mattu, a practicing psychologist and digital creator, to discuss the reality of wearing two hats. We will explore why doctors are becoming content machines, how they navigate the minefield of liability and ethics, and why the most trusted voice in Pharma’s future might be a Tik-Tokking nurse.

Direct-to-Patient (DTP) has graduated from an experimental pilot to a core commercial reality. But as the model matures, the definition of “direct” is shifting beneath our feet. In this session, Lindsay Reel explores the critical evolution of DTP – moving beyond isolated telehealth apps or digital pharmacies into integrated, end-to-end patient journeys. We will unpack how the convergence of data, AI, and new ecosystem partnerships is finally unlocking the “Access Trinity”: speed, affordability, and engagement.

Two-thirds of U.S. adults using AI for health explicitly want tools for symptom and condition support.

While the industry debates the hype, new research from Fullspan Health confirms a consumer mandate for intelligent guidance over static information. Moderated by Suzy Jackson, David Gordon and Matt Lasmanis explore how brands must pivot from “digital brochures” to high-utility systems. They will unpack the data—including the 60% seeking triage guardrails and 53% requesting doctor-ready summaries—to demonstrate how Pharma can finally bridge the critical gap between digital search and the exam room.

The 2025 Patient Confidence Index is clear: patients aren’t just asking for better care; they are demanding a modern, tech-forward experience.

In this discussion, Elissa Guerra joins Jen Chee and Dr. Monica Kapoor to explore the disconnect between what patients want and what the system currently delivers. They will dissect the latest PCI data – drawn from 2,000 Americans – to reveal how marketers and providers can align to reduce friction and deliver value in the moments that matter.

Pharma often treats Patient and Provider marketing as separate disciplines, but the decision to treat happens in a single shared moment. Let’s challenge the siloed approach to commercial strategy, sharing new performance insights demonstrating how synchronizing consumer signals with clinical decision support can close activation gaps and drive measurable business outcomes.

Unlock unparalleled precision in reaching patients and healthcare professionals. This session reveals how leveraging AI, strategic data partnerships, and Google’s capabilities can drastically refine your targeting, boost campaign efficiency, and drive measurable outcomes. Discover actionable insights and case studies on integrating HCP and DTC efforts, empowering you to optimize reach and achieve superior engagement in today’s dynamic healthcare landscape.

Physicians today are drowning in a “sea of sameness” from pharma outreach. Legacy automation has amplified the noise, often hitting the wrong HCP at the wrong time. This session introduces a paradigm shift: AI, built for regulated environments and designed to act as a clinical partner, not a marketing megaphone. Unlike static rules engines, these autonomous agents leverage billions of behavioral signals to deliver hyper‑relevant resources in‑workflow, when patient need is highest. We will be the first to open‑source findings from our proprietary dataset, revealing the single most predictive engagement factor (hint: it’s not specialty or demographics). Attendees will see how an ethical, compliance‑by‑design architecture transforms outreach into clinical utility, accelerates therapy access, and drives measurable commercial impact. Expect reproducible methods and practical guardrails for deploying AI responsibly in pharma.

Patients and providers currently appear as different “versions” of themselves across the digital ecosystem—and it is breaking your measurement.

Identity fragmentation is the silent killer of ROI and compliance. In this panel, leaders from IQVIA Digital, Throtle, and Apellis Pharmaceutical discuss why a single, privacy-compliant identifier is no longer just a “tech upgrade”—it is the backbone of modern healthcare marketing. They will explore how to unify data across CRMs, CDPs, and clean rooms to create a consistent view that safeguards privacy while unlocking true performance.

To close Pharma Forward 2026, we step away from quarterly pipelines and regulatory hurdles to look over the horizon. We are entering an era where medicine is becoming a data science and biology is becoming an engineering discipline.

In this exclusive closing keynote, we’ll get a unique futurist perspective on the next decade. Sitting at the intersection of bedside care and Alphabet’s technical firepower, this session offers an unrivaled vantage point on how the “New Healthcare Stack” is actually being built. Moving beyond the hype of today’s news cycle, we will explore the macro-trends shaping the 2030s—from the impact of AI on clinical reasoning to the new infrastructure of delivery—and what these shifts mean for the long-term strategy of the pharmaceutical industry.