Registration Opens: Commons Lobby Bar
Welcome Networking Event: Village Lawn
Welcome Remarks: Village Lawn
CEO Summit Participant Introductions
Self-Introductions by all participants
Fireside Chat Series: The Purposeful CEO – Fulfilling the Promise
Interviewer:
Maya Skubatch, Partner, Patents and Innovations, Wilson Sonsini
Fireside Chat CEO:
Marianne De Backer, CEO, Vir Biotechnology
Networking Dinner: Vintner’s Room
Private Networking Breakfast: Oakville Terrace
Summit Overview & Rules Of Engagement: Carneros Salons
The Great Reset: Navigating the New Reality in Biotech
With major shifts in healthcare policy and the financial climate, biotech CEOs face new realities on multiple fronts. Financing has been and continues to be challenging while a new set of regulatory and access issues has been ushered in with the new administration. This discussion will explore how the sector is adapting to this reset moment and what lies ahead for innovation, investment and the delivery of next-generation medicines to patients.
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Regulatory Realignment: Navigating the “New” FDA
The FDA has undergone changes in tone, transparency, and process. This session will unpack how evolving agency dynamics will affect development programs and impact investor interest, and best practices to advocate effectively on behalf of your company to advance products amid heightened scrutiny.
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NETWORKING BREAK (Carneros Pre-Function)
The State of Play: Key Public Policy Issues Impacting Biotech
Drug Pricing, Most Favored Nation, the IRA, Insurance Coverage, Patent life, Investment in Early Innovation. This conversation will address the wider public policy pressures shaping biotech and explore how CEOs and advocates are engaging in the broader ecosystem to defend access, scientific innovation and enterprise value.
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Leading During Unpredictable Times
Leadership in the biotech sector today demands both vision and resilience. CEOs will share personal insights on how they’re leading through ambiguity – whether in scientific uncertainty, market whiplash or organizational fatigue – and how they’re recharging their teams while still driving toward long-term goals.
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Rethinking Your Strategy – Turning Adversity into Advantage
In a climate where headlines can distort reality, strategic clarity is more essential than ever. This discussion will focus on how biotech CEOs are staying mission-aligned, maintaining internal momentum and pivoting proactively, without being paralyzed by market sentiment or macro noise.
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Networking Lunch: Oakville Terrace
A One-on-One Conversation with A BIO Leader: Carneros Salons
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Caught in the Storm: Charting the Financial Landscape Amid Uncertainty
Biotech funding conditions remain volatile, with sporadic openings in the public markets, tighter private capital and increasing investor selectivity. This session explores how biotech leaders are navigating the current financial storm by rethinking runway management, reprioritizing pipelines, and redefining capital efficiency.
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Creative Fundraising and Deal Making: Is Partnering the New Fundraising?
With dilutive capital harder to secure, many CEOs are turning to partnerships as a path to progress. This session explores creative deal structures, corporate venture trends and how to evaluate when and with whom to partner, without losing strategic control.
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Beyond Borders: Global Dealmaking
In today’s funding landscape, ex-U.S. strategies are more than optional, they’re essential. This conversation will explore how CEOs are engaging in cross-border deals, accessing non-U.S. regulatory and reimbursement pathways, and assessing the risks and rewards of expanding into new global markets.
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Technology as Catalyst: Reaching Key Inflection Points
Whether accelerating discovery, enabling smarter trial design or optimizing development timelines, technology is now central to biotech progress. Learn how emerging companies are making smart bets on platforms, digital tools and innovation partnerships to reach key milestones faster and more efficiently.
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Day 1 Wrap-Up & Instructions for CEO Summit Games
Global Biotech CEO Summit Games: Vineyard Deck
(Please wear comfortable shoes and clothes)
Break
Networking Reception: Estate Wine Cave
Biotech CEO Summit Gala Awards & Dinner: Estate Wine Cave
Private Networking Breakfast: Oakville Terrace
Welcome Back & Day 2 Commences: Carneros Salons
A One-on-One Conversation with A BIO Leader
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Taking Action to Influence Outcomes
Even amid uncertainty, CEOs can shape outcomes for their companies and more broadly for science, innovation and access through patient and targeted advocacy that aligns with internal strategies and priorities. This session focuses on how to stay centered while driving action, leveraging policy, market and leadership tools to remain proactive rather than reactive.
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Building A Strategic Communications Program for Today’s Stakeholders
In a trust-constrained environment, clear communication is a strategic asset. This session unpacks how to build a messaging platform that resonates with your key audiences, from investors and regulators to patients and employees, and how to adapt your narrative when the market shifts.
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Networking Break: Carneros Pre-Function
Getting the Most from Your Board in Turbulent Times
Boards can be catalysts or constraints, depending on how they’re engaged. This conversation dives into how CEOs are managing up, aligning board expectations and using the board strategically during times of financing stress, FDA inflection points or pipeline reprioritization.
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Building a High-Performance Team with Lean Resources
Doing more with less has become the new industry norm. This session will explore how leaders are cultivating high-performing teams, sustaining culture and retaining mission-critical talent, even when hiring slows and budgets tighten.
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Networking Lunch: Oakville Terrace
Becoming A Visionary Biotech Leader
Visionary leadership in biotech requires more than scientific insight. It demands strategic storytelling, coalition-building, and an ability to see around corners. This session will explore the capabilities today’s CEOs need to lead innovation at the edge of uncertainty.
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An Unguarded Conversation Among Friends
For the last session of the summit, we’re going unfiltered and giving participants space to share what’s really on their minds: the emotional, strategic and cultural weight of biotech leadership.
Closing Reception: Carneros Pre-Function
