The biggest names in pharma have never been afraid of a challenge. Competition breeds pioneering treatments and never-before-seen transformations.

Never before have there been so many ways to discover, develop and launch blockbuster modalities, the rise of AI launching thousands of previously unimaginable opportunities. Yet pharma faces headwinds of smaller budgets, high R&D costs, complex compliance, and geopolitical risk. There is no doubt that big-picture market dynamics are changing.

Pharma has always made obstacles into opportunities and problems, possibilities. Especially when powerful dealmaking between industry and startups drives success.

How is pharma approaching a whole new set of challenges and setting itself up for success?

Imagine a world in which you had unfiltered access to the CEO of one of the world’s biggest companies. 

No PR team, no prescripted questions, no rehearsed answers. 

Just half an hour of pure, unprocessed, insightful revelations. That’s the HLTH Europe CEO Agenda for 2030.

30 mins. One CEO. Immeasurable insight.

Pharma’s R&D engine runs on blockbuster drugs. Recent breakthroughs in GLP-1s, CRISPR mRNA have turned treatment labels into household names. These high-octane performers keep the engine humming and the profits pumping.

But since 2018, more than 70% of new molecular entity revenues have come from external innovators, small labs with the flexibility to move quickly. As AI changes the way in which new therapies are discovered, will that trend continue? Or can big pharma bring more drug development back in-house? 

To broaden pharma’s pipeline, in-licensing and acquisitions have become imperative. Yet the rapidly changing, artificial intelligence-infused landscape may help to buck this trend.  With a trend towards later-stage clinical assets, smaller but higher-quality preclinical pipelines are predicted.

As drug development lurches forward, will the next wave of innovation and commercial opportunity come from outside or inside Big Pharma?

Traditionally, pharma commercials have revolved around broad promotional strategies and incremental market access gains, rather than data-driven precision and integrated digital engagement.

But AI has turbocharged competitive intelligence, put a rocket up targeting and segmentation, and has shown great promise in both increasing adherence and tailoring patient support.

The pharma landscape is as competitive as it has ever been. With every microscopic gain at the top of the funnel multiplied into millions of dollars by the end of the cycle, how are pharma’s most talented commercial leaders optimising for success?

These roundtables bring together leaders across science, industry, and policy to explore three forces reshaping how medicines are discovered, developed, and delivered. 

Leveraging AI in drug discovery: AI is accelerating target identification, modelling, and early-stage development. What breakthroughs are already emerging, and what safeguards are needed to ensure quality, trust, and scale?

The European role in driving innovation: Europe’s scientific strength and regulatory ambition place it in a pivotal position globally. How can the region convert its research excellence into commercial impact, support high-growth companies, and strengthen its role in shaping international standards?

Global access and pricing models: From value-based approaches to global partnerships - innovation only matters if it reaches patients. How can we balance affordability with incentives for investment?

Clinical trials have improved at the edges, better recruitment, stronger safety, smarter operations, but the core model has barely shifted since Jenner’s time. Now, credible alternatives are emerging.

Alongside traditional designs, sponsors are exploring in silico models, digital twins, synthetic controls, adaptive frameworks, and hybrid or decentralised trials. Rather than replacing humans outright, the future is likely a blend: smaller cohorts supported by virtual models, real-world data complementing controlled studies, and flexible designs that evolve as evidence accumulates.

What will this new mix look like in practice? Which methods will gain regulatory traction? And how can pharma prepare for a world where evidence generation is faster, more diverse, and increasingly augmented by technology?

The clinical trial revolution is upon us. As this momentum accelerates, what shifts, surprises and breakthroughs should we anticipate in the years ahead?

As an industry, we may like to think of ourselves as above things as fickle as trends. Trends, as a word, may seem to lack the weight, the gravitas, the importance that pharma demands. But we are nonetheless an industry that has long since thrown ourselves off the precipice of radical change. 

With radical change comes trends.

Personalised medicine? In. AI workflow automation? In. Late-stage asset deals? In. 

Centralised trials? Out. Linear drug discovery? Out. Unsustainable practices? Out.

We’ve gathered some of the finest minds in pharma to tell us where they’re sticking their chips for 2026. Late adopters need not apply.