| 7:15 am |
Private Networking Breakfast: Oakville Terrace
|
| 8:20 am |
Summit Overview & Rules Of Engagement: Carneros Salons
- Sara Jane Demy, Founder & CEO, Demy-Colton
|
| 8:30 am |
The Great Reset: Navigating the New Reality in Biotech
With major shifts in healthcare policy and the financial climate, biotech CEOs face new realities on multiple fronts. Financing has been and continues to be challenging while a new set of regulatory and access issues has been ushered in with the new administration. This discussion will explore how the sector is adapting to this reset moment and what lies ahead for innovation, investment and the delivery of next-generation medicines to patients.
Discussion Leader:
- Stephanie DeViteri, President, North America, Inizio Evoke Comms
Discussants:
- Jeffrey Cleland, CEO, President & Chairman, Ashvattha Therapeutics
- Cartier Esham, CEO, Esham Strategies
- Nancy Myers, CEO, Catalyst Healthcare Consulting
- Peter Rubin, Executive Director, No Patient Left Behind
|
| 9:15 am |
Regulatory Realignment: Navigating the “New” FDA
The FDA has undergone changes in tone, transparency, and process. This session will unpack how evolving agency dynamics will affect development programs and impact investor interest, and best practices to advocate effectively on behalf of your company to advance products amid heightened scrutiny.
Discussion Leader:
- Susan Schaeffer, Managing Director, Cohesion Bureau
Discussants:
- Nancy Myers, CEO & Founder, Catalyst Healthcare Consulting
- Thijs Spoor, CEO, Perspective Therapeutics
- Lisa Jenkins VanLuvanee, COO & VP, R&D, Facet Life Sciences
|
| 10:00 am |
NETWORKING BREAK (Carneros Pre-Function)
|
| 10:15 am |
The State of Play: Key Public Policy Issues Impacting Biotech
Drug Pricing, Most Favored Nation, the IRA, Insurance Coverage, Patent life, Investment in Early Innovation. This conversation will address the wider public policy pressures shaping biotech and explore how CEOs and advocates are engaging in the broader ecosystem to defend access, scientific innovation and enterprise value.
Discussion Leader:
- Barak Kassar, Co-Founder & Partner, BKW Partners
Discussants:
- Cartier Esham, CEO, Esham Strategies
- Peter Rubin, Executive Director, No Patient Left Behind
|
| 11:00 am |
Leading During Unpredictable Times
Leadership in the biotech sector today demands both vision and resilience. CEOs will share personal insights on how they’re leading through ambiguity – whether in scientific uncertainty, market whiplash or organizational fatigue – and how they’re recharging their teams while still driving toward long-term goals.
Discussion Leader:
- John Spencer, Managing Director, Life Sciences, ZRG Partners
Discussants:
- Bassil Dahiyat, CEO & President, Xencor
- Marianne De Backer, CEO, Vir Biotechnology
- Elizabeth Jeffords, CEO, Iolyx Therapeutics
- Jeffrey Meckler, CEO, Indaptus Therapeutics
|
| 11:45 am |
Rethinking Your Strategy – Turning Adversity into Advantage
In a climate where headlines can distort reality, strategic clarity is more essential than ever. This discussion will focus on how biotech CEOs are staying mission-aligned, maintaining internal momentum and pivoting proactively, without being paralyzed by market sentiment or macro noise.
Discussion Leader:
- Virginia Amann, Founder & CEO, ENTENTE Network
Discussants:
- Ted Haack, VP, LatticePoint
- Ravi Kiron, CEO, Naya Biologics
- Kenneth VanLuvanee, CEO, Facet Life Sciences
|
| 12:30 pm |
Networking Lunch: Oakville Terrace
- Table 1: Working with the “New” FDA (Cartier Esham, CEO, Esham Strategies, Nancy Myers, CEO, Catalyst Healthcare Consulting)
- Table 2: Strategies to Affect Change (Peter Rubin, Executive Director, No Patient Left Behind, Ted Love, Immediate Past Chair, BIO)
- Table 3: Alternative Financing (Ted Haack, VP, LatticePoint, Jesse Essaff, Director, Life Science & Healthcare, Commercial Banking, HSBC Innovation Banking)
- Table 4: Shortening Timelines, Reducing Costs and Extending Your Runway (Grant Gephardt, VP, Corporate Accounts, Thermo Fisher Scientific)
- Table 5: Lean and Aggressive Development Strategies (Kenneth VanLuvanee, CEO, Facet Life Sciences, Lisa Jenkins VanLuvanee, COO & VP, R&D, Facet Life Sciences)
|
| 1:45 pm |
A One-on-One Conversation with A BIO Leader: Carneros Salons
Interviewer:
- Virginia Amann, Founder & CEO, ENTENTE Network
Interviewee:
- Ted Love, Immediate Past Chair, BIO
|
| 2:15 pm |
Caught in the Storm: Charting the Financial Landscape Amid Uncertainty
Biotech funding conditions remain volatile, with sporadic openings in the public markets, tighter private capital and increasing investor selectivity. This session explores how biotech leaders are navigating the current financial storm by rethinking runway management, reprioritizing pipelines, and redefining capital efficiency.
Discussion Leader:
- Jason Spark, Chief Biotech Officer, Inizio Evoke Comms
Discussants:
- Uri Lopatin, Operating Partner, Khosla Ventures
- Carolyn Ng, Partner, TPG Life Sciences Innovations
- Jonathan Norris, Managing Director, HSBC Innovation Banking
|
| 3:00 pm |
Creative Fundraising and Deal Making: Is Partnering the New Fundraising?
With dilutive capital harder to secure, many CEOs are turning to partnerships as a path to progress. This session explores creative deal structures, corporate venture trends and how to evaluate when and with whom to partner, without losing strategic control.
Discussion Leader:
- Ryan Roller, Managing Director, Life Science & Healthcare, HSBC Innovation Banking
Discussants:
- Christina Poulsen, Partner, Corporate, Wilson Sonsini
- Linda Pullan, Founder, Pullan Consulting
|
| 3:45 pm |
Beyond Borders: Global Dealmaking
In today’s funding landscape, ex-U.S. strategies are more than optional, they’re essential. This conversation will explore how CEOs are engaging in cross-border deals, accessing non-U.S. regulatory and reimbursement pathways, and assessing the risks and rewards of expanding into new global markets.
Discussion Leader:
- Ted Haack, VP, LatticePoint
Discussants:
- Elizabeth Jeffords, CEO, Iolyx Therapeutics
- Linda Pullan, Founder, Pullan Consulting
|
| 4:30 pm |
Technology as Catalyst: Reaching Key Inflection Points
Whether accelerating discovery, enabling smarter trial design or optimizing development timelines, technology is now central to biotech progress. Learn how emerging companies are making smart bets on platforms, digital tools and innovation partnerships to reach key milestones faster and more efficiently.
Discussion Leader:
- Mark Federici, Global Director, Business Development for Bio-innovations, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Discussants:
- Lucas Decuypere, CEO, Allegro
- Bogdan Knezevic, CEO & Co-Founder, Kaleidoscope Bio
- Melanie Matheu, Co-Founder and CSO, Lyric Bio
- Dai Takehara, CEO & President, PRISM BioLab
|
| 5:15 pm |
Day 1 Wrap-Up & Instructions for CEO Summit Games
- Sara Jane Demy, Founder & CEO, Demy-Colton
|
| 5:20 pm |
Global Biotech CEO Summit Games: Vineyard Deck
(Please wear comfortable shoes and clothes)
|
| 7:15 pm |
Break
|
| 7:45 pm |
Networking Reception: Estate Wine Cave
|
| 8:30 pm |
Biotech CEO Summit Gala Awards & Dinner: Estate Wine Cave
|
