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Home / Events / 2026 @Philly AI in Biopharma Executive Summit
EXECUTIVE SUMMIT · AI IN BIOPHARMA

2026 @Philly AI in Biopharma Executive Summit

Dates
Oct 16, 2026
Venue
Science History Institute, 315 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Format
1 day · keynote + 3 themed panels
Focus
AI · Drug discovery · Clinical development · Investment
Register Become a sponsor
About this event

From drug discovery and clinical development to data science, corporate strategy, and investment, artificial intelligence is becoming a defining force in the next wave of life science innovation. For leaders working at the front line of the industry, the question is no longer whether AI matters, but how its potential can be translated into real breakthroughs for biopharma.

On 16 October 2026, SAPA-GP will convene the 2026 @Philly AI in Biopharma Executive Summit at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia — an invitation-scale gathering of roughly 100–150 industry leaders, decision-makers, and investment professionals from pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, AI and data companies, and academic research, built for candid, peer-to-peer exchange rather than passive presentations. The keynote, full panel line-up, and confirmed speakers appear in the agenda and speaker sections below.

DATE
Friday, October 16, 2026
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
VENUE
Science History Institute
315 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
FORMAT
Keynote + 3 themed panels
Executive roundtable discussion
SCALE
100–150 invited leaders
Pharma · Biotech · AI · Investment

Who should attend

✓  You drive AI adoption in drug discovery or clinical development at a pharmaceutical company
✓  You set AI strategy at a biotechnology firm or an AI/ML company
✓  You invest in computational biology, data science, or AI-enabled biotech
✓  You lead new-direction research in an academic AI or life science laboratory
✓  You are seeking partners, investment, or new business opportunities across AI and biopharma

If you are currently making, or preparing to make, decisions of this kind, this is a day of peer-to-peer exchange built for you.

Schedule

Agenda

Keynote Talk Panel Break
8:00 am 5:00 pm
Break

Registration Open

8:45 am 9:00 am
Talk Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Meeting Kick Off

Details

Welcome remarks by SAPA-GP President - Xinjun Zhang, President of Science History Institute - David Cole, followed by Conference Program Introduction by Lixia Yao

9:00 am 9:45 am
Keynote Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Keynote 1 - Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO and Founder, InSilico Medicine - Hosted by Lixia Yao

Details

Hosted by: Lixia Yao

Presentation - "Toward Pharmaceutical Superintelligence: Generative AI and automation for drug discovery and longevity"

9:45 am 10:45 am
Talk Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Track 1 - Session A: From Molecules to Patients: What Can AI Actually Accomplish and When? (Presentation)

Details

Track 1 - AI in Drug Discovery: Where Will the First Real Breakthrough Come From?

Moderator: Li Shen, PhD, Professor in Informatics, Radiology, and Computer & Information Science, University of Pennsylvania

• Huafeng Xu, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Fathom Therapeutics
Presentation - "Generating medicines of extreme selectivity"
• Christos Davatzikos, PhD, Wallace T. Miller Sr. Professor of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania
Presentation - "AI in neuroimaging: personalized diagnostics, prognostication, and treatment guidance"
• Fei Wang, PhD, Frances and John Loeb Professor of Medical Informatics and Department of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), Cornell University
Presentation - "Stitching Heterogeneous Data Sources for Computational Drug Development"

10:45 am 11:05 am
Break

Coffee Break

11:05 am 12:05 pm
Panel Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Track 1 - Session B: From Scientific Breakthrough to Operating Model: Who Decides in AI Drug Discovery? (Panel)

Details

Moderator: Lixia Yao, PhD, CEO and Founder, Polygon Health Analytics
• Huafeng Xu, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Fathom Therapeutics
• Christos Davatzikos, PhD, Wallace T. Miller Sr. Professor of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania
• Fei Wang, PhD, Frances and John Loeb Professor of Medical Informatics and Department of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), Cornell University
• David Henderson, PhD, Principal Customer Engineer & Research Solution Lead for Healthcare & Life Sciences, Google

12:05 pm 1:05 pm
Break Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Lunch Break

12:15 pm 1:00 pm
Talk Clinical & Reg Adams (2nd floor)

Sponsored Seminar - Joshua Maher, PhD, CTO of Princeton Pharmatech

Details

Presentation - "AI for Clinical Trial Statistics: Lessons from Building It"

1:05 pm 1:50 pm
Keynote Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Keynote 2 - Sean Khozin - Hosted by Haichen Yang

Details

Hosted by: Haichen Yang

Presentation - TBD

1:50 pm 2:50 pm
Talk Clinical & Reg Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Track 2 - Session A: AI in Clinical Development: Real Cases, Real Constraints (Presentation)

Details

Track 2 - AI in Clinical Development: Where the Money and Time Actually Go

Moderator: Yali Liang, MD/MPH, Director of Global Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics, Jazz Pharmaceuticals

• Long Wang, MD/PhD, SVP, Head of Regulatory, Mineralys Therapeutics
Presentation - "Use of Artificial Intelligence in Regulatory Decision Making"
• Junshui Ma, PhD, AVP, head of biometrics, early development, Merck & Co.
Presentation - "The New Reality of Pharma R&D: AI Amplifies Expertise, Experts Drive Innovation"
• Jessica Striker, MBA, Sr. Director, Clinical Operations, Merck & Co. | Shivanjali Kumar, MBA, MS, PMP, Associate Director, Core Data Platform, Merck & Co.
Presentation - "STRIDE: Unlocking Data with AI in Country and Site Selection"

Panel Adams (2nd floor)

Track 3 - Follow the Money: Capital Shaping Life Science AI (Panel)

Details

Moderator: Rui Che
• Dimitris Agrafiotis, PhD, Director, Digital, Analytics, and AI, Arsenal Capital Partners
• Aaron Spivak, PhD/MBA, Analyst, Balyasny Asset Management L.P.
• Matt Studney, Chief customer officer, TetraScience
• Kerry Benson, MBA, Interim President & CEO, Science Center

2:50 pm 3:10 pm
Break Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Coffee Break

3:00 pm 5:00 pm
Talk Adams (2nd floor)

Song Li Scholarship Student Competition

Details

Judges:
• David Cole, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, CEO Roundtable on Cancer
• Aaron Mackey, PhD, Senior Fellow, Scientific AI, McKinsey
• Evelyn Guo, MD, MBA, MS, Medical Director, Genmab

3:10 pm 4:10 pm
Panel Clinical & Reg Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Track 2 - Session B: Beyond Pilots: The People and Process Gap in Clinical AI (Panel)

Details

Moderator: Antong Chen, PhD, Merck
• Long Wang, MD/PhD, SVP, Head of Regulatory, Mineralys Therapeutics
• Junshui Ma, PhD, AVP, head of biometrics, early development, Merck & Co.
• Jessica Striker, M.B.A., Sr. Director, Clinical Operations, Merck & Co.
• Shivanjali Kumar, M.B.A., M.S., P.M.P., Associate Director, Core Data Platform, Merck & Co.
• Kevin He, Director of Business Development, Deep Intelligence Pharma

4:10 pm 4:55 pm
Keynote Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Keynote 3 - Ron Kim, Founder, AI & Tech Advisor, Ron Kim Advisory - Hosted by Xinjun Zhang

Details

Hosted by: Xinjun Zhang

Presentation - "The Emerging AI Tech Landscape in Pharma - Fact vs. Fiction, Fall 2026 Edition"

4:55 pm 5:00 pm
Talk Ullyot Meeting Hall (1st floor)

Song Li Scholarship Student Competition — Award Announcement

Details

Closing Remarks by Lixia Yao, Planning Committee Chair

5:00 pm 6:30 pm
Talk

Dinner (ticket only)

Who is speaking

Speakers

Keynote speakers
Sean Khozin, M.D.
Keynote
Sean Khozin, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer, CEO Roundtable on Cancer
Ronald Y. Kim, M.B.A., B.S.
Keynote
Ronald Y. Kim, M.B.A., B.S.
Founder, AI & Tech Advisor, Ron Kim Advisory
Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D.
Keynote
Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D.
CEO, Insilico Medicine
Speakers & panelists
Dimitris Agrafiotis, Ph.D.
Dimitris Agrafiotis, Ph.D.
Director, Digital, Analytics, and AI, Arsenal Capital Partners
Kerry Benson, M.B.A
Kerry Benson, M.B.A
Interim President & CEO, Science Center
Rui Che
Rui Che
Senior Managing Director, KPMG LLP
Antong Chen, Ph.D.
Antong Chen, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Data Science and Scientific Informatics, Merck
David Cole, Ph.D., M.B.A
David Cole, Ph.D., M.B.A
President & CEO, Science History Institute
Christos Davatzikos, Ph.D.
Christos Davatzikos, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Evelyn Guo, M.D., M.B.A, M.S.
Evelyn Guo, M.D., M.B.A, M.S.
Medical Director, Genmab
Kevin He, M.B.A.
Kevin He, M.B.A.
Director of Business Development, Deep Intelligent Pharma
David Henderson, Ph.D.
David Henderson, Ph.D.
Research Solutions Lead and Customer Engineer, Health Care and Life Sciences, Google
Shivanjali Kumar, M.B.A., M.S., P.M.P.
Shivanjali Kumar, M.B.A., M.S., P.M.P.
Associate Director, Core Data Platform (Merck Research Laboratories), Merck
Yali Liang, M.D., M.P.H.
Yali Liang, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Junshui Ma, Ph.D.
Junshui Ma, Ph.D.
Associate VP, Head of Biometrics Research, Merck & Co. Inc
Aaron Mackey, Ph.D.
Aaron Mackey, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Scientific AI, McKinsey
Joshua Maher, Ph.D.
Joshua Maher, Ph.D.
CTO, Princeton Pharmatech
Li Shen, Ph.D., FAIMBE, FACMI, FAMIA
Li Shen, Ph.D., FAIMBE, FACMI, FAMIA
Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Aaron Spivak, Ph.D., M.B.A
Aaron Spivak, Ph.D., M.B.A
Analyst, Balyasny Asset Management
Jessica Striker, M.B.A., B.A.
Jessica Striker, M.B.A., B.A.
Sr. Director, Clinical Operations, Merck
Matt Studney, B.S.
Matt Studney, B.S.
Chief Customer Officer, TetraScience
Fei Wang, Ph.D.
Fei Wang, Ph.D.
Professor, Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine
Long Wang, M.D., Ph.D.
Long Wang, M.D., Ph.D.
SVP, Head of Regulatory, Mineralys Therapeutics
Huafeng Xu, Ph.D.
Huafeng Xu, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Fathom Therapeutics
Lixia Yao, Ph.D.
Lixia Yao, Ph.D.
CEO & Founder, Polygon Health Analytics LLC
Xinjun Zhang, Ph.D.
Xinjun Zhang, Ph.D.
President, SAPA-GP
Sponsors
Deep Intelligence Pharma Princeton Pharmatech Kactus KPMG InvestHK

Register

The summit is open to industry leaders, decision-makers, and investment professionals working at the intersection of AI and biopharma. Register through the official summit page.

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ABOUT SAPA-GP

Founded in 2002, SAPA-GP (Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association – Greater Philadelphia) advances pharmaceutical science and biotechnology, fosters collaboration between science and industry, and supports the professional development of life science professionals. With more than 4,000 members, SAPA-GP plays an active role in the biopharmaceutical research and development community of the Greater Philadelphia region.

2002
Founded
4,000+
Members
Greater Philadelphia
Biopharma R&D hub
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