In this blog, we share the thoughts of the team following their attendance at Reuters USA Pharma in Philadelphia on March 17-18, 2026.
The weather in Philadelphia made us think two things. Firstly, how coming from the UK, we really are one to bring the weather with us – it was a chilly few days; and secondly, how whilst we were navigating the climate it is not too different in pharma. We are constantly navigating the climate of a patient’s life through data points.
With the ever-growing evolution of AI tools and shifting access models it is great that the themes such as patient-centricity and human evidence were well-represented at the event through conference sessions and conversations. There were too many fantastic sessions to mention, but here are just some of our highlights:
Access as the innovation: the next evolution in obesity management
Illya Yuffa (Eli Lilly) opened the session talking about how they need to “reduce frictions across platforms”, “knock down the barriers for people to get access to care” and “deliver break through treatments to patients that really need it”.
Zero distance to the patient: breaking the assumptions between pharma and impact
Keynote Speaker, Maria Whitman (ZS) helped kickstart the Monday morning with the importance of changing how we view Direct-to-Patient models. This was supported by leaders from Amgen and Nestle Health Science, who noted that “power to the patient is getting stronger and stronger,” yet currently only 1 in 10 people in the US can successfully navigate the healthcare system. The goal is the “shortest distance” to patients by engaging them early in the clinical study stage.
This is something that resonates personally with the A Life in a Day mission – gaining deeper insights by going beyond the molecule to gain a better understanding of a patient’s lived experience and unseen barriers, leading to better outcomes.
Link patient experience to measurable real-world value
Tina Valbh reminded us that “patients don’t live through dashboards” and that poor education materials or “hubs with zero empathy” directly impact a manufacturer’s reputation. We must “remember the people behind the bar charts” and ensure patient outcome measures are brought into commercialisation, rather than “letting go” once a trial ends.
Tech as a trust builder – curating a unified, intelligent patient-centric framework
Chaired by Nicholas Garnier (Servier), this session highlighted the need to identify patient needs before building a solution. The panel challenged the industry to use AI to ensure patients feel our empathy, moving beyond the assumption that patients don’t understand their own disease.
Designing patient-centric engagement strategies that scale across global pharma
Another session of note, Jacose Bell, Sanofi, provided a masterclass in scaling patient-centricity from the top-down. She highlighted how moving beyond engagement as a transactional concept toward “meaningful co-creation” and structured process turns the lived experience into a rigorous data source. For specific examples, A Life in a Day Founder, Mark Doyle, highlights examples of supporting a patient-centric culture in a previous LinkedIn article alongside a conversation with J&J Managing Director (Germany), Urs Voegeli
Lay the launch roadmap: Turn evidence into demand on day one
Experts from Chiesi, AstraZeneca, Acadia Pharmaceuticals and Wavestone highlighted how fusing Real-World Examples with digital signals allows teams to pinpoint exactly where treatment is needed most.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, equipping field teams with the right tools to target HCP intent at the right time. By also ensuring that costs and insurance hurdles are smoothed out beforehand, they proved that you can help patients start their treatment faster without hurting the company’s bottom line.
We often speak to commercial teams looking for similar situations, and being able to experience patient need into these conversations has led to better, more efficient outcomes.
With credit:
Speakers:
Erica Smith, VP, Value & Market Access, Chiesi
Dicla Veliz Salce, IO Women’s Cancer Lead, AstraZeneca
Dilesh Doshi, VP, Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Acadia Pharmaceuticals
Moderator:
Michele Petruccelli, Partner, Wavestone
Building trust through collaboration – Making Scientific Knowledge Accessible and Patient-Centered
Matthijs van Meerveld, Global Head of Patient Advocacy and Policy, Menarini Stemline and Patient Advocate Victoria Goldberg shared a compelling vision for turning scientific knowledge into a patient-centered asset. Their session highlighted the power of translating authentic narratives into plain-language messaging to tackle misinformation and build health literacy. By delivering content across multiple modalities—visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic—they demonstrated how to drive equity-focused engagement that truly empowers informed choices. For us at A Life in a Day, this is a perfect reinforcement of why multi-sensory learning is vital; it’s about moving beyond information overload to create lasting comprehension and better health outcomes.
AI is reshaping pharma functions: Upskill critical roles prime for evolution
Punit Kumar (Novartis) noted that while there is fear surrounding AI, teams “need to leverage it to survive”. Patrick Leyton (Merck) added that AI is no longer optional; it must be used to enhance existing platforms.
Why this all resonates with A Life in a Day?
At A Life in a Day, we often talk about the importance of empathy in innovation. It has been fantastic to hear about the many advances and shifts in mindset towards how we use the tools we have developed over the last few years but discussions have made it clear: If we do not understand the daily challenges a patient faces, even the most advanced AI agent won’t close the gap. Which we have also shared in our latest blog.
As the team return from Philadelphia, the message is clear: Patient outcomes are the keystone to successful business models. As noted in the closing keynote, this transformation requires leadership alignment, as technology alone is not enough. We are clearer than ever in our determination to drive better insights, better conversations and better outcomes for everyone in healthcare and beyond.
If you attended Reuters Pharma 2026, we’d love to hear what you thought of the event, our stand and the experiences we shared. Get in touch below!
