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
7:30 am | Longwood Fund Introduction
Christoph Westphal, General Partner, Longwood Fund
7:45 am | BioPharma Pipeline Sourcing
Uli Brödl, Head, R&D & CSO, Grünenthal
Michal Preminger, CEO, BioMed X Venture Labs
Morten Sogaard, SVP, Innovation Lab, Astellas
Moderator: Sekhar Naik, CEO, MResult
8:15 am | Driving Productivity in R&D
Sanjay Magavi, CSO, Progentos Therapeutics
Ken Moch, CEO, Regerna Therapeutics
Greg Tietjen, CEO, Revalia Bio
Dennis Velasquez, CCO, Biorce
8:45 am | Evolving Dealmaking Landscape
Debbie Drane, Head, BD, Therapeutic Areas, CSL
Bob Silverman, VP, Business Transactions, Formation Bio
9:15 am | Fireside Chat
George Yancopoulos, President & CSO, Regeneron
9:35 am | Networking Break
10:00 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
10:30 am | Maintaining Patient-Centric Focus
Susan Abu-Absi, COO, Be Bio
Jessica Grossman, CEO, IgGenix
Alessandro Maselli, CEO, Catalent
11:00 am | Aligning Priorities with the Board
Margo Georgiadis, CEO, Montai
Mahesh Karande, Board Director, KSQ Therapeutics
Paul Sekhri, CEO, vTv Therapeutics
11:30 am | Gubernatorial Keynote
Maura Healey, Governor, Massachusetts
12:00 pm | Networking Luncheon
1:00 pm | R&D Collaboration
Zhen Su, CEO, Marengo Therapeutics
Thomas Von Erlach, CEO, Vivtex
1:30 pm | Developing High-Performing Teams
Kara Carter, CEO, Viraccio Therapeutics
Rachel Humphrey, CEO, Normunity
Tarek Rabah, CEO, Otsuka North America
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
2:30 pm | Networking Break
3:00 pm | Pipeline Prioritization
Ruchira Glaser, EVP & Global Head, Development, CVRM, Novartis
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
4:00 pm | Global Partnerships: Working Across Borders
Alan Ginsberg, Head, Global Licensing & BD, New TAs, EMD Serono
Polly Brown, Head, BD, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca
4:30 pm | Assessing Investment Risk
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
7:30 am | Longwood Fund Introduction
7:45 am | Navigating the Regulatory Landscape
Peter Hutt, Former General Counsel, FDA
Ed Kaye, CEO, Aurora Therapeutics
8:15 am | Existing Pipelines: Maintaining Clinical Progress
Peter Joyce, CEO, Grey Wolf Therapeutics
Jennifer Michaelson, CSO, Cullinan Therapeutics
Mani Mohindru, CEO, Cardiff Oncology
8:45 am | Adapting to Funding Environment Constraints
Sandeep Gupta, CEO, Leukogene
Bill Lundberg, former CEO, Merus
Jake Rubens, CEO, Serif
9:15 am | Accelerating Innovation in Women’s Health
9:45 am | Making RNAi into a New Class of Drugs: Alnylam Discoveries
Kevin Fitzgerald, CSO, Alnylam
Phil Sharp, Scientific Founder, Alnylam
Moderator: Christoph Westphal, Founding CEO, Alnylam
10:05 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
Philippe Lopes-Fernandes, CBO, Ipsen
Takashi Owa, Senior Corporate Group Officer, Head of External Innovation, Eisai
11:20 am | Crossroads of Science & Policy: Sustaining the Engine of Innovation
Atul Gawande, Former Assistant Administrator, Global Health, USAID (2022 – 2025)
Susan Hockfield, President Emerita, MIT
Joe Kennedy III, former Congressman, Massachusetts
Steve Ubl, CEO, PhRMA
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
Sarah Sheikh, Head, Neuroscience TA & Head, Global Development, Takeda
1:30 pm | Building Global Biopharmas
Pino Ciaramella, President, Beam Therapeutics
Jing Li, CEO, VelaVigo
2:00 pm | Drug Approvals: Insights, Outlook, and Commitment to Patients
Vikram Karnani, CEO, Collegium Pharmaceutical
Raviv Pryluk, CEO, PhaseV
2:30 pm | Fireside Chat
Andrew Baum, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Pfizer
2:50 pm | The Evolving Needs of R&D
Mat Pletcher, CSO, Weaver Biosciences
Sammi Tang, SVP, Global Head, Quantitative Sciences & Evidence Generation, Astellas
Moderator: Yiannis Kiachopoulos, CEO, Causaly
3:20 pm | Networking Break
3:50 pm | Fireside Chat
Fiona Marshall, President, Biomedical Research, Novartis
4:10 pm | Capital Formation and Strategic Partnerships
Kiran Reddy, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Life Science
Derek Small, CEO, Syndeio Biosciences
4:40 pm | Investment Outlook
Raymond Kelleher, Managing Director, Cormorant
Claudine Prowse, Venture Partner, JPM Private Capital
Moderator: Vikas Goyal, Partner, Longwood Fund
5:10 pm | Cocktail Reception
Speaking Faculty
Speaking Faculty
