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AI for Biologics
AI Breakthroughs Powering the Future of Biologics Discovery
May 19, 2026
The AI for Biologics symposium will explore the transformative role of AI and machine learning (ML) in biologics drug discovery. Attendees will leave with insights into both the current capabilities and future opportunities of AI/ML in biologics innovation. We will showcase novel methods developed in-house and outside of pharma/biotech, along with early, promising results, demonstrating their impact on drug discovery pipelines. Join this symposium to learn about the future outlook for AI-driven drug development and its potential to drive breakthrough therapies.

Tuesday, May 19

Registration and Morning Coffee

Organizer's Welcome Remarks

EXECUTIVE SESSION & PHARMA USE CASES

FEATURED PRESENTATION:
Accelerating Innovation 

Photo of Justin M. Scheer, PhD, Vice President In Silico Discovery & Head, Molecular Computational Team, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine , Global Vice President, In Silico Discovery , Molecular Computational Team , Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Justin M. Scheer, PhD, Vice President In Silico Discovery & Head, Molecular Computational Team, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine , Global Vice President, In Silico Discovery , Molecular Computational Team , Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine

Panel Moderator:

PANEL DISCUSSION:
Unlocking the Potential of New Modalities through AI and Automation

Photo of Sebastian Schlicker, Head, Biologics Business Operations, Genedata AG , Head , Biologics Business Operations , Genedata AG
Sebastian Schlicker, Head, Biologics Business Operations, Genedata AG , Head , Biologics Business Operations , Genedata AG

Panelists:

Photo of Barbara Brannetti, PhD, Director Bioinformatics & Biotherapeutic Modeling at Biologics Research Center, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) , Director Data Science , Data Science , Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Inc
Barbara Brannetti, PhD, Director Bioinformatics & Biotherapeutic Modeling at Biologics Research Center, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) , Director Data Science , Data Science , Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Inc
Photo of Kausheek Nandy, Digital Transformation Director - Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. , Director of Digital Transformation - Research , Biotherapeutics Discovery Research , Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc
Kausheek Nandy, Digital Transformation Director - Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. , Director of Digital Transformation - Research , Biotherapeutics Discovery Research , Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc
Photo of Sukru Kaymakcalan, Director, R&D Information Research, AbbVie, Inc. , Dir R&D Information Research , R&D Information Research , Abbvie Bioresearch Center
Sukru Kaymakcalan, Director, R&D Information Research, AbbVie, Inc. , Dir R&D Information Research , R&D Information Research , Abbvie Bioresearch Center
Photo of Yves Fomekong Nanfack, PhD, Head of AI/ML Research, Takeda , Head of AI/ML - Research , Takeda
Yves Fomekong Nanfack, PhD, Head of AI/ML Research, Takeda , Head of AI/ML - Research , Takeda

Use Case from AbbVie

Photo of Athena Hadjixenofontos, PhD, Director of Computational Biology & Data Science, Abbvie , Director of Computational Biology & Data Science , AbbVie
Athena Hadjixenofontos, PhD, Director of Computational Biology & Data Science, Abbvie , Director of Computational Biology & Data Science , AbbVie

Combining the capabilities of a leading antibody-discovery organization with cutting-edge machine learning unlocks transformative opportunities in biotherapeutics discovery. At AbbVie, we are embedding predictive models directly into scientific workflows, addressing all aspects of a target product profile. This innovation enables programs to progress faster through stage gates, while also making better medicines by exploring previously inaccessible sequence space. We will share the principles that guide our building of this powerful predictive engine, which relies on a robust data platform and is powered by cross-functional teams shaping the future of biotherapeutics discovery.

Recommended Pre-Conference Workshops and Symposia*

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, Cambridge Healthtech Institute is pleased to offer six pre-conference Workshops scheduled across two time slots (9:00 am–12:00 pm and 1:15–4:15 pm) and three Symposia from 8:30 am–3:45 pm. All are designed to be instructional, interactive, and provide in-depth information on a specific topic. They allow for one-on-one interaction and provide a great way to explain more technical aspects that would otherwise not be covered during the main conference tracks that take place Wednesday–Thursday.

*Separate registration required. Additional details:

Networking Coffee Break

Operationalizing AI-Enabled Structural Biology and Protein Design at Sanofi

Photo of Joseph Batchelor, PhD, Head of Structural Biology, US Biologics Research, Sanofi Group , Head of Structural Biology , US Biologics Research , Sanofi Grp
Joseph Batchelor, PhD, Head of Structural Biology, US Biologics Research, Sanofi Group , Head of Structural Biology , US Biologics Research , Sanofi Grp

NextGenPLM: A Novel Structure-Infused Foundational Protein Language Model for Antibody Discovery and Optimization

Photo of Abhinav Gupta, PhD, Principal Machine Learning Scientist, AI Innovation, Large Molecule Research, Sanofi , Principal Machine Learning Scientist , Large Molecule Research , Sanofi
Abhinav Gupta, PhD, Principal Machine Learning Scientist, AI Innovation, Large Molecule Research, Sanofi , Principal Machine Learning Scientist , Large Molecule Research , Sanofi

NextGenPLM: a new paradigm in multimodal foundational models that fuses sequence, 3D structure, and interaction data in a single efficient transformer—enabling high-throughput, repertoire-scale antibody–antigen screening. On a diverse benchmark of antibody–antigen complexes, matches Chai-1 and Boltz-1x on contact-map and epitope accuracy at a fraction of the compute cost. In an internal affinity-maturation campaign, ranking mutants by predicted contact probabilities and masked-language-modeling (MLM) log-likelihoods helped achieve up to 17× affinity improvements—demonstrating its potential for rapid, data-driven biologics discovery.

Transition to Lunch

Session Break

MODELS AND MORE

Using AI to Increase the Success Rate and Throughput of Biologics Discovery

Photo of Liu Cao, PhD, Senior Machine Learning Scientist, Pfizer Inc.
Liu Cao, PhD, Senior Machine Learning Scientist, Pfizer Inc.
Photo of Yuan Lin, Director Digital Biologics Products, Pfizer Inc. , Sr Mgr , Global Biologics R&D , Pfizer Inc
Yuan Lin, Director Digital Biologics Products, Pfizer Inc. , Sr Mgr , Global Biologics R&D , Pfizer Inc

The rapid advancement of biologics, particularly antibody-based therapeutics, has revolutionized the landscape of drug discovery and development. As the complexity and volume of biologics data continue to grow, effective data management strategies have become essential for accelerating research and ensuring data integrity. This presentation explores the intersection of biologics data management and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of antibody drug discovery.

Operationalizing AI in Biologics Discovery: Embedding Models into Scientific Workflows

Photo of Drazen Nadoveza, PhD, Architect Software Engineering, Novartis , Architect, Software Engineering , RX ENG , Novartis
Drazen Nadoveza, PhD, Architect Software Engineering, Novartis , Architect, Software Engineering , RX ENG , Novartis
Photo of Kannan Sankar, PhD, Senior Expert I, Data Science & Bioinformatics, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Inc. , Sr Expert I , Data Science & Bioinformatics , Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Inc
Kannan Sankar, PhD, Senior Expert I, Data Science & Bioinformatics, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Inc. , Sr Expert I , Data Science & Bioinformatics , Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Inc

Operationalizing machine learning and generative AI in biologics discovery means more than building models—it involves embedding them into scientific workflows to run analyses alongside experimental data. This talk will cover strategies for streamlining data usage for model training, integrating in silico-generated data with laboratory results, and overcoming implementation challenges.

Digital Transformation Across Modalities and Geographies

Photo of Pravin Kumar, PhD., Senior Product Manager, Global Research Informatics Platform and Solutions (GRIPS), Abbvie Bioresearch Center , Senior Manager , AbbVie
Pravin Kumar, PhD., Senior Product Manager, Global Research Informatics Platform and Solutions (GRIPS), Abbvie Bioresearch Center , Senior Manager , AbbVie

Networking Refreshment Break

INNOVATION SPOTLIGHTS FROM ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY

Introduction to the Innovation Spotlights from Academia & Industry Session

Photo of Douaa Mugahid, PhD, Data Officer, Hi-IMPAcTB Consortium, Harvard School of Public Health , Data Officer for Hi-IMPAcTB Consortium , Immunology & Infectious Diseases , Harvard School of Public Health
Douaa Mugahid, PhD, Data Officer, Hi-IMPAcTB Consortium, Harvard School of Public Health , Data Officer for Hi-IMPAcTB Consortium , Immunology & Infectious Diseases , Harvard School of Public Health

Artificial Intelligence (AI)'s promise in accelerating drug discovery has generated plenty of excitement in biopharma. But how exactly is AI being built and leveraged to fulfill the promise of more scalable and efficient therapeutic design, especially in the field of biologics? Please join me and the speakers of the Innovation Showcase to discover how open source infrastructure, big data, and de novo AI models are changing the biologics development landscape.

Photo of Ryan Peckner, PhD, Director, Machine Learning, Seismic Therapeutic , Director , Machine Learning and Computational Biology , Seismic Therapeutic
Ryan Peckner, PhD, Director, Machine Learning, Seismic Therapeutic , Director , Machine Learning and Computational Biology , Seismic Therapeutic

Better Medicines Created Rapidly through de novo Protein Design

Photo of Ben Meinen, PhD, Head, Protein Design, AI Proteins , Head of Protein Design , Protein Design , AI Proteins Inc
Ben Meinen, PhD, Head, Protein Design, AI Proteins , Head of Protein Design , Protein Design , AI Proteins Inc

Miniproteins are a powerful yet underutilized therapeutic modality with a structure that enables binding with high affinity and specificity to their targets and achieves remarkable stability using only canonical amino acids. By combining de novo design with synthetic biology and laboratory automation, we accelerate the discovery and optimization of protein binders and create a vast toolbox of modular miniprotein domains, each with ideal drug-like properties and developability profiles.

EDA Toolkit: A Unified Framework for Transparent and Reproducible Data Science Workflows

Photo of Leon Shpaner, Data Scientist, UCLA Health , Data Scientist , UCLA Health
Leon Shpaner, Data Scientist, UCLA Health , Data Scientist , UCLA Health

The EDA Toolkit is an open-source Python library designed to standardize and accelerate exploratory data analysis across domains. It combines automated data profiling, visualization, and preprocessing in a single, reproducible framework. This presentation demonstrates how the toolkit simplifies data strategy, enhances collaboration between teams, and promotes trust in AI model development through transparency and reproducibility.

Photo of Mahmoud Eljendy, Co-Founder & CEO, Proteinea , CEO , Proteinea
Mahmoud Eljendy, Co-Founder & CEO, Proteinea , CEO , Proteinea

Session Speaker Q&A

Close of Symposium

Refreshment & Networking Break—Transition to Plenary Keynote

PLENARY KEYNOTE PROGRAM

Organizer's Remarks

Cindy Crowninshield, Executive Event Director, Cambridge Healthtech Institute , Executive Event Director , Cambridge Healthtech Institute

Presentation to be Announced

Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

The Bio-IT Kickoff Reception is a reunion—reconnect with friends, explore cutting-edge research, and celebrate innovation! Enjoy poster presentations, networking, and vote for the Best of Show and Poster awards.

Close of Day


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