MIT CEO
June 15-16, 2026
Koch Institute at MIT
In order to further cultivate biomedical innovation and the advancement of medicines to help patients, Longwood Healthcare Leaders is gathering thought leaders across pharma, biotech, government, academia, healthcare, and investing for two days of discussion and networking. Join us for this not-to-be-missed event at MIT’s Koch Institute.
Longwood Healthcare Leaders MIT CEO is co-hosted with
Sally Kornbluth (President, MIT), Nobelist Phil Sharp (co-founder Biogen/Alnylam), Bob Langer (co-founder Moderna/Momenta), and Matthew Vander Heiden (Director, Koch Institute).
Co-Hosts
MIT CEO is co-hosted alongside leaders in the industry.
Featured Speakers
R&D Leaders
Leading BioPharma CEOs
Top BD & Strategy Executives
Renowned Academics & Leading Researchers
Government, Regulatory & Policy Leaders
Blue-Chip Investors
Highlights from last year's MIT CEO
Watch highlights from MIT CEO, including interviews with Robert Califf (former Commissioner, FDA), Maura Healey (Governor, Massachusetts), Sally Kornbluth (President, MIT), Eliav Barr (CMO, Merck), Ken Keller (CEO, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.), Janet Woodcock (former Acting Commissioner, FDA), Miguel Fernandez Alcalde (President, EMD Serono), Jorgen Soberg Petersen (Senior Partner, Novo Holdings), among others.
Venue
Co-hosted with MIT leadership and held at MIT's Koch Institute in the heart of Cambridge, MA's Kendall Square, MIT CEO is located at 500 Main Street, Cambridge, MA.
Agenda
Monday, June 15, 2026
7:00 am | Registration & Networking Breakfast
7:45 am | Biotech Update & Longwood Fund Introduction
Christoph Westphal, General Partner, Longwood Fund
8:00 am | BioPharma Pipeline Sourcing
Uli Brödl, Head, R&D & CSO, Grünenthal
Jenny Laird, Global Head, BD, Neuroscience, Eli Lilly & Company
Michal Preminger, CEO, BioMed X Venture Labs
Morten Sogaard, SVP, Innovation Lab, Astellas
Moderator: Sekhar Naik, CEO, MResult
8:30 am | Driving Productivity in R&D
Sanjay Magavi, CSO, Progentos Therapeutics
Kenneth Moch, CEO, Regerna Therapeutics
Greg Tietjen, CEO, Revalia Bio
Dennis Velasquez, CCO, Biorce
Moderator: Amanda Wagner, CEO, Immunitas Therapeutics
9:00 am | Evolving Dealmaking Landscape
Polly Brown, Head, BD, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca
Debbie Drane, Head, BD, Therapeutic Areas, CSL
Alan Ginsberg, Head, Global Licensing & BD, New TAs, EMD Serono
Andrew Wong, Head, Pharmaceutical Partnering, US, Chugai
Moderator: Bob Silverman, VP, Business Transactions, Formation Bio
9:30 am | Fireside Chat
Jeff Leiden, Executive Chair, Vertex
George Yancopoulos, President & CSO, Regeneron
Co-Moderators: Sekhar Naik, CEO, MResult
Christoph Westphal, General Partner, Longwood Fund
10:00 am | Networking Break
10:30 am | Aligning Priorities with the Board
Meeta Chatterjee, former Chief Strategy Officer, Sun Pharma
Margo Georgiadis, CEO, Montai
Mahesh Karande, CEO, Stealth Bio
Paul Sekhri, CEO, vTv Therapeutics
Moderator: Jason Cole, CEO, Zag Bio
11:00 am | Maintaining Patient-Centric Focus
Jessica Grossman, CEO, IgGenix
Alessandro Maselli, CEO, Catalent
Jonathan Fleming, Chair, Cambridge Health Alliance Foundation
Vikram Sudarsan, CEO, Engrail Therapeutics
Moderator: Susan Abu-Absi, COO, Be Bio
11:30 am | Translating Science into Medicine
Vanessa Almendro Navarro, CCO, City of Hope
Don Ingber, Founding Director, Wyss Institute at Harvard
Brock Reeve, CEO, EOS Bioinnovation
Matthew Vander Heiden, Director, Koch Institute, MIT
Moderator: Seema Kumar, CEO, Cure.
12:00 pm | Networking Luncheon
1:00 pm | R&D Collaboration
Uli Bialucha, CSO, Xilio Therapeutics
Irene Blat, Head, External Innovation, Servier
Phil Chamberlain, CEO, Neomorph
Zhen Su, CEO, Marengo Therapeutics
Thomas Von Erlach, CEO, Vivtex
1:30 pm | Developing High-Performing Teams
Nenad Grmusa, CEO, DEM Bio
Rachel Humphrey, CEO, Normunity
Bob Pozen, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan
Jim Weissman, Strategic Advisor, Jefferson Life Sciences
Moderator: Kara Carter, CEO, Viraccio Therapeutics
2:00 pm | Accelerating Drug Discovery
Sharon Benzeno, CCO, Adaptive Biotechnologies
Art Krieg, CEO, Zola Therapeutics
Marc Tessier-Lavigne, CEO, Xaira
Brent Vaughan, CEO, Eratos Therapeutics
Moderator: John Lepore, CEO, ProFound Therapeutics
2:30 pm | Networking Break
3:00 pm | Pipeline Prioritization
Matthew Henn, President & CSO, Seres Therapeutics
Gavin MacBeath, CEO, TScan Therapeutics
Gilmore O'Neill, CEO, Editas Medicine
Rick Russell, CEO, Tract Bio
Moderator: Leslie Meltzer, Chief R&D Officer, Apellis Phrmaceuticals
3:30 pm | Positioning for Commercial Success
Geoff Chaiken, CEO, Blink Health
Rachid Izzar, Head, Commercialization, Biogen
Erik Lundgren, SVP, Head, Commercial, Genentech
Brett Monia, CEO, Ionis
Moderator: Helen Sabzevari, CEO, Precigen
4:00 pm | Fireside Chat
Bob Langer, Institute Professor, MIT; Co-Founder, Moderna/Momenta
Chris Viehbacher, CEO, Biogen
Moderator: Christoph Westphal, General Partner, Longwood Fund
4:20 pm | Assessing Investment Risk
Anna French, Managing Partner, Qiming Venture Partners US
Omar Khalil, Managing Director, Sante Ventures
Kush Parmar, Managing Partner, 5AM Ventures
Geeta Vemuri, Managing Partner, Agent Capital
Moderator: Aleks Radovic-Moreno, Partner, Longwood Fund
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
7:00 am | Registration & Networking Breakfast
7:45 am | Biotech Update & Longwood Fund Introduction
Christoph Westphal, General Partner, Longwood Fund
8:00 am | Navigating the Regulatory Landscape
Ned Braunstein, EVP, Regulatory Affairs & Global Patient Safety, Regeneron
Ed Kaye, CEO, Aurora Therapeutics
Moderator: Daniel Teper, CEO, NAYA Therapeutics
8:30 am | Existing Pipelines: Maintaining Clinical Progress
Peter Joyce, CEO, Grey Wolf Therapeutics
Sabeen Mekan, CMO, Zymeworks
Jennifer Michaelson, CSO, Cullinan Therapeutics
Mani Mohindru, CEO, Cardiff Oncology
Moderator: Paul Peter Tak, CEO, Candel Therapeutics
9:00 am | Adapting to Funding Environment Constraints
Sandeep Gupta, CEO, Leukogene
Bill Lundberg, former CEO, Merus
Peter Pfeiffer, CBO, GondolaBio
Jake Rubens, CEO, Serif
Moderator: Olga Granaturova, President, Prive Bio
9:30 am | Making RNAi into a New Class of Drugs: Alnylam Discoveries
Kevin Fitzgerald, CSO, Alnylam
Pushkal Garg, Chief R&D Officer, Alnylam
Moderator: Christoph Westphal, Founding CEO, Alnylam
10:00 am | Networking Break
10:30 am | Fireside Chat
Sally Kornbluth, President, MIT
David Liu, Core Institute Member, Broad Institute
10:50 am | Ecosystem of External Innovation
Jeanne Cunicelli, President, UPMC Enterprises
Jeb Keiper, Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures
Takashi Owa, Senior Corporate Group Officer & Head, External Innovation, Eisai
Anne-Kathrin Witt, Enterprise Head, Strategy & Corporate Development, CSL
Moderator: Philippe Lopes-Fernandes, CBO, Ipsen
11:20 am | Crossroads of Science & Policy: Sustaining the Engine of Innovation
Atul Gawande, Former Assistant Administrator, Global Health, USAID
Joe Kennedy III, former Congressman, Massachusetts
Anne Klibanski, CEO, Mass General Brigham
Steve Ubl, CEO, PhRMA
Moderator: Susan Hockfield, President Emerita, MIT
11:50 am | Congressional Keynote
Seth Moulton, Congressman, Massachusetts
12:05 pm | Networking Luncheon
1:00 pm | Advancing Late-Stage Assets
Anna Kazanchyan, CEO, Saghmos Therapeutics
Kia Motesharei, President & COO, ReAlta Life Sciences
Sarah Sheikh, Head, Neuroscience TA & Head, Global Development, Takeda
1:30 pm | Building Global Biopharmas
Pino Ciaramella, President, Beam Therapeutics
Mandana Honu, CBO, Fathom Therapeutics
Grace Kim, Chief Strategy Officer, Medincell
Jing Li, CEO, VelaVigo
Moderator: Raj Prasad, CFO, Crispr Therapeutics
2:00 pm | Gubernatorial Keynote
Maura Healey, Governor, Massachusetts
Moderator: Christoph Westphal, General Partner, Longwood Fund
2:30 pm | Drug Approvals: Insights, Outlook, and Commitment to Patients
Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Lasker Award Winner, GLP1
Bill Hait, Chief Scientific Advisor, AACR; former Global Head, Janssen R&D
Vikram Karnani, CEO, Collegium Pharmaceutical
Sandeep Menon, Chief R&D Officer, BioCryst
Moderator: Raviv Pryluk, CEO, PhaseV
3:00 pm | The Evolving Needs of R&D
Carlos Bosques, CEO, Food Allergy Science Initiative
Grace Colón, CEO, OmniPulse Biosciences
Iain Kilty, CEO, Sitryx
Sammi Tang, SVP, Global Head, Quantitative Sciences & Evidence Generation, Astellas
Moderator: Marco Costa, COO, Causaly
3:30 pm | Networking Break
3:50 pm | Fireside Chat
Fiona Marshall, President, BioMedical Research, Novartis
Levi Garraway, CMO, Roche Genentech
4:10 pm | Capital Formation and Strategic Partnerships
John Crowley, CFO, Centessa
Mary Fisher, CEO, Colorescience
Daniel Rosan, CFO & CBO, Ascidian Therapeutics
Derek Small, CEO, Syndeio Biosciences
Moderator: Kiran Reddy, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Life Science
4:40 pm | Investment Outlook
Jonathan Behr, Partner, Dementia Discovery Fund, SV Health
Raymond Kelleher, Managing Director, Cormorant
Claudine Prowse, Venture Partner, JPM Private Capital
Cam Wheeler, Partner, Deerfield
Moderator: Vikas Goyal, Partner, Longwood Fund
5:10 pm | Cocktail Reception
Speaking Faculty
Speaking Faculty
