Pharma Launch Excellence Summit Conference Day 1: Wednesday September 30

Day 1: Aligning the Enterprise & De-Risking Launch

Launch strategies are more sophisticated than ever, yet outcomes remain inconsistent. Some organizations point to execution gaps, others to strategy, alignment, or external market dynamics. So where do launches really break down? Attend this session to delve into:

• Exploring where launches fail across strategy, execution and alignment

• Understanding the role of cross-functional coordination in outcomes

• Identifying the biggest drivers of successful vs underperforming launches

Janine Shea

Vice President Market Access Strategy and Marketing
Alkermes

See Bio

Suraj Moorthy

Senior Vice President and Head of Global Strategic Insights
EMD Serono

See Bio

Salman Rizvi

Vice President, US External Medical Affairs & Patient Engagement
Viatris

See Bio

Most launches spend years preparing for approval. This one started there. With no runway, a small initial team, and no fully established commercial infrastructure, the challenge was not simply bringing a groundbreaking gene therapy to market. It was building the team, operating model and go-to-market strategy between approval and first commercial treatment in record time.

Drawing on a journey from a team of two to a full commercial organization with significant annual sales, Rich will share practical lessons on building launch capability when the runway is limited and the stakes are high.

• Building launch capability under pressure with limited pre-market runway

• Scaling people, process and go-to-market models after approval

• Aligning commercial, medical and access around a high-complexity launch

• Creating accountability when roles, ownership and infrastructure are still evolving

Rich Verde

Director, Launch Excellence, Uro-Oncology
Ferring Pharmaceuticals

See Bio

AI is rapidly entering launch planning, but many teams are still working out where it meaningfully improves speed, quality and decision-making. Across medical, commercial, access, analytics and field teams, the opportunity is not just automation, it is using AI to improve insight generation, content development, stakeholder engagement and launch execution without losing rigour, compliance or human judgment. Attend this session to delve into a range of perspectives on:

• Identifying where AI can reduce launch workload and accelerate readiness

• Applying AI to insight synthesis, content development and customer engagement

• Balancing speed, compliance and quality in AI-enabled launch workflows

• Supporting leaner teams while maintaining launch performance and impact

Yin-Yin W. Wang

Director, Medical Strategic Planning and Performance
Pfizer

See Bio

Salman Rizvi

Vice President, US External Medical Affairs & Patient Engagement
Viatris

See Bio

As the role evolves, definitions and responsibilities very widely. Without clarity, ownership and accountability can quickly break down. This roundtable session will cover:

• Defining launch excellence across organisational models

• Clarifying ownership across commercial, medical and operations

• Positioning launch excellence as a strategic function

Siddharth Jain

Head (SD), Global Medical Unit for Growth & Launch Brands in Rare Diseases
Takeda

See Bio

Annie Curti

Director, Product Strategy & Launch Excellence (Hematology)
Novartis

See Bio

Small groups. No slides. No spectators.

Each table is built around a problem teams are actively trying to solve:

• Fixing weak uptake in the first 90 days post-launch

• Getting Medical, Access and Commercial aligned before approval

• What to cut when launch budgets tighten

• Where AI is actually saving time in launch execution

• Dealing with payer pushback on high-cost therapies

You'll leave with:

• How others are approaching it

• What's working vs failing

• Practical ideas you can take straight back

GROUP 1: AI in Launch: Turning Experimentation into Measurable Impact

GROUP 2: Access, Pricing and Affordability as Launch Strategy

GROUP 3: Patient Demand, DTC and the AI-Informed Patient

GROUP 4: Medical Affairs, Evidence and Scientific Engagement Before Launch

GROUP 5: Turning Launch Strategy into Launch Performance

GROUP 6: Field Execution, Commercial Ops and Launch Infrastructure

Most launch teams have plans, playbooks and checklists, but many still discover too late that assumptions have not been pressure-tested, roles are unclear, decision rights are missing, or critical handoffs are weaker than expected.

This session will explore the common launch readiness mistakes companies make before going to market, and how mock launch exercises can expose gaps early, strengthen cross-functional alignment and turn launch planning into real operational readiness.

• Identifying hidden gaps in launch readiness before they become launch risks

• Using mock launch to pressure-test assumptions, roles and decision-making

• Aligning commercial, medical, access, supply and field teams around execution

• Turning rehearsal insights into practical launch improvements

Teena Rehani

Launch Excellence Capability Lead
Boehringer Ingelheim

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US pricing pressure is no longer a domestic market access issue, it is reshaping global launch strategy. As pharma leaders face uncertainty around price reform, transparency, payer pressure, PBM dynamics and the potential global implications of reduced US pricing power, launch teams are being forced to rethink where, when and how they bring products to market.

This panel will explore how commercial, access and global launch leaders are adapting launch strategy in an environment where profitability assumptions, sequencing decisions and market prioritization are becoming harder to predict.

• Assessing how US pricing pressure could reshape global launch sequencing

• Balancing patient access, profitability and market prioritization under uncertainty

• Adapting launch strategy when oncology and specialty markets become more fragmented

• Building flexible launch plans for narrower indications and smaller patient populations

Julie Cosgrove

Head of Strategy & Operations US Market Access
Sanofi

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Rare disease launches require fundamentally different approaches, with smaller populations, higher costs and more complex access pathways. Join this session to delve into a range of perspectives on:

• Designing strategies for highly targeted patient populations

• Navigating pricing, access and reimbursement challenges

• Engaging patients, advocacy groups and specialist clinicians

Jason Noto

SVP, US Market Access & Alliance Management
AVEO Oncology

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Suraj Moorthy

Senior Vice President and Head of Global Strategic Insights
EMD Serono

See Bio

Medical Affairs is not one function, it is a connected ecosystem of teams shaping evidence, stakeholder engagement, field readiness, medical intelligence and scientific credibility before, during and after launch. As products become more complex, launch success depends on aligning Medical Strategy, Field Medical, HEOR, Medical Information, Scientific Communications, Medical Operations and data-driven insight earlier and more deliberately.

• Aligning medical strategy, field medical and scientific communications

• Connecting HEOR, RWE and evidence generation to access needs

• Using data and medical intelligence to guide launch decisions

• Preparing Medical Information and field teams before approval

Jay Jackson

Vice President HEOR
Vera Therapeutics

See Bio

Lisa Khosla

Executive Director, Medical Information
Vera Therapeutics

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German Guerrero

Executive Medical Director & Launch Lead
Vera Therapeutics

See Bio

Donald Mallet

VP Field Medical
Vera Therapeutics

See Bio