As AI Rewrites Drug Development, the Industry Gathers in Philadelphia to Work Out the Rules
DIA 2026 Global Annual Meeting brings together regulators from four continents, 20 of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, and more than 4,100 drug development professionals — June 14–18 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center
WASHINGTON D.C. — Artificial intelligence is moving faster than the frameworks designed to govern it. This June, the people responsible for closing that gap will be in one room.
The Drug Information Association's 2026 Global Annual Meeting convenes a cross-section of drug development that is difficult to find anywhere else: the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, Japan's PMDA, the UK's MHRA, Health Canada, Brazil's ANVISA, and the African Medicines Agency, alongside Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Bayer, Novo Nordisk, Moderna, Genentech, Amgen, and more than a dozen other leading pharmaceutical companies. More than 150 sessions will take on the biggest questions facing the field, from AI governance and GLP-1 innovation to CAR-T access and global regulatory harmonization.
Physician-scientist and Every Cure co-founder David Fajgenbaum delivers the opening keynote. Daily plenaries, including the opening session featuring former White House public health official and President of GATC Health Rahul Gupta on use of AI to de-risk drug development and capital investment, will also include former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf on GLP-1 therapies and Penn Medicine pioneer Bruce Levine on engineered T-cell therapies. The meeting closes Thursday with a closing session featuring leaders from Google, OpenAI, Eli Lilly, Bain & Company, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
On Wednesday evening, DIA presents its Inspire Awards at the National Constitution Center honoring Noubar Afeyan, Peter Marks, Emily Whitehead, the Baby KJ care team, and Novo Nordisk.
"In sixty-plus years, DIA has never convened at a moment quite like this one," said Marwan Fathallah, DIA Chief Executive Officer. "The science is moving faster than at any point in our history, and so is the uncertainty. This meeting exists to turn that uncertainty into alignment, and this year, the stakes for getting that right have never been higher."
Standard registration rates end May 14. Hotels and full program details at diaglobal.org/dia-2026. Media members can email diaglobal@gregoryfca.com for credentials.
