“AI systems will likely have a central role over the next several years in almost every component of the biotech ecosystem,” says Joe Franklin, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), “including what we consider the life cycle of biotech products—from early stage development to designing the product molecule, all the way through to R&D, clinical trials, non-clinical studies, and even regulatory process.”
This is why BIO is kicking off the 2026 International Convention in San Diego with the second annual AI Summit, convening the industry’s leading minds to discuss opportunities and challenges around AI in the biotech ecosystem.
The BIO International Convention is featuring 20 AI sessions covering a variety of use cases. The AI Summit itself will be held on Monday, June 22, with seven marquee sessions throughout the afternoon.
BIO 2026 convenes AI experts
“We need to realize that with all of these AI tools, the underlying AI technologies are actually very different from one use case to the next, both when it comes to implementation considerations or policy considerations,” says Franklin. “There’s so much strategic development to make sure that we’re focusing our firepower on the right AI issues to advance the ecosystem.”
In accordance with its mission, BIO is focused on understanding how it can create value for members across these areas while also advancing innovation and access for patients.
“One of the important roles that BIO can play in AI issues is convening,” Franklin goes on to explain. “Given the speed of AI technology development, adoption is uneven. Uneven adoption means that there’s a really great opportunity for experts in the field, companies, technology developers, researchers, to learn from each other, and BIO can be the entity that brings together all of those voices in one place.”
And indeed, the 2026 Convention’s AI Summit is bringing together some of the industry’s AI vanguard, including representatives from NVIDIA, Eli Lilly, the Mayo Clinic, Ginkgo Bioworks, Bristol Myers Squibb, and many more.
“The next wave of AI in life sciences isn’t a single model—it’s networks of specialized agents collaborating to solve the hardest problems in biology,” says Stacie Calad-Thomson, PhD, Business Development Lead of Pharma Labs and Manufacturing at NVIDIA. “From generative molecular design to lab automation execution and clinical trial optimization, agentic AI will fundamentally change the speed and economics of drug discovery. The companies that harness this now will compress what used to take years into months, and NVIDIA and its partners are working together to make that future real for patients.”
Robust AI policy for a strong future
BIO is also developing ongoing AI policy priorities to make sure that companies, lawmakers, and regulators can keep pace with this rapidly advancing technology.
“We’re looking to identify where all of the proposed or potential AI policies have implications for our members,” continues Franklin. “Where can the policy environment go to enable appropriate adoption of AI in biopharma? Where do policymakers need more education, including about the latest and greatest use cases of AI in biopharma? And where are there risks to AI adoption that we can be uniquely ready to help policymakers work through?”
And when it comes to the creation of the policy priorities and education, the AI Summit is a major voice in informing their development.
How to participate
If you are interested in getting more informed on AI’s role in the biotech industry, connecting with AI life science leaders, or joining the conversation around AI’s adoption along the biotech and life sciences ecosystem, you can attend any of BIO’s upcoming AI sessions.
AI Summit panels on June 22 include:
- AI Summit Kickoff: Data on AI Adoption in Biotech, 1:00–1:30PM
- Beyond the Hype: How AI is Actually Transforming Biopharma in 2026, 1:45–2:45PM
- We Are All Winners! AI-Bolstered Digital Precision Health Benefits Patients, Payers, and Providers in Asia Pacific Region, 1:45–2:45PM
- How Can Generative Genomics Help Us Design Biology Better, Not Just Faster? 3:00–4:00PM
- Data Hunger, Enterprise Risks: Biomedical Data and Cybersecurity in the AI Era, 3:00–4:00PM
- Quantum Computing in Drug Discovery, 4:15–5:15PM
- Agentic AI in Clinical Trials: Accelerating Recruitment and Streamlining Operations for Large-Population Diseases, 4:15–5:15PM
Additional AI sessions include:
- In AI We Trust? The Shift from Calculator to Collaborator, Tuesday June 23, 11:00AM–12:00PM
- AI Transformation – Building Organizations that Turn Potential into Breakthroughs, Tuesday June 23, 1:45–2:45PM
- Reality Check: Finding the Right AI Partners to Fuel R&D, Tuesday June 23, 3:00–4:00PM
- From Code to Clinic: Investing in AI and Life Sciences, Tuesday June 23, 3:00–4:00PM
- Breaking Down Silos: Building Multidisciplinary Teams for End-to-End AI Drug Development, Tuesday June 23, 4:15–5:15PM
- Accelerating Discovery While Protecting Patient Data: Federated Learning at Scale, Wednesday June 24, 11:00AM–12:00PM
- Turning AI Hype into Real-World Breakthroughs and Measurable Value for Pharma, Wednesday June 24, 11:00AM–12:00PM
- Regulating the Future: Global Perspectives on AI Governance, Wednesday June 24, 1:45–2:45PM
- AI x Nature: Unlocking Biology’s Hidden Blueprint for the Next Generation of Medicines, Wednesday June 24, 1:45–2:45PM
- Smart Science, Smarter Deals: How AI Platforms are Transforming Drug Discovery Deals, Wednesday June 24, 3:00–4:00PM
- Overcoming R&D Constraints with Generative Artificial Intelligence Supported by High-Throughput Data Generation, Wednesday June 24, 3:00–4:00PM
- Putting AI in Its Proper Place – Where and When to Empower Expertise by Embedding AI, Wednesday June 24, 4:15–5:15PM
- Breaking Through the Noise: Building Marketable AI Platforms in Biotech, Wednesday June 24, 4:15–5:15PM
