We are pleased to announce that the 26th Annual Biotech in Europe Forum (#Sachs_BEF) will take place on the 7th – 8th of October 2026 at the Mövenpick Hotel Basel. The event will be part of the Sachs Autumn Life Sciences Week (#SALSW), which will also incorporate the 1st Annual European Healthcare Impact Summit (#Sachs_EHIS), taking place the day before BEF. The new forum will replace the 13th Annual HealthTech Investment Forum (#Sachs_HTIF) and the 8th Annual HealthTech Innovation Days, allowing relevant attendees to register for all three days of SALSW.
The physical programme for BEF will consist of the usual panels and keynotes, which will be available on-demand by the 15th of October. Additionally, there will be pre-arranged in-person meetings, live and on-demand company showcases, as well as networking receptions. This year, the main reception on the 7th of October will take place at Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, one of Basel’s most prestigious riverside venues, offering an elegant setting for high-level networking. Recordings of the presentations will be uploaded by the 13th of October. During the online week, virtual meetings will be available through the online meeting system.
Returning for its 26th Annual Edition, this established global bio-pharma industry event will address the key challenges and investment trends for 2026, with a strong focus on partnering, alliance management, and future prospects. Leading industry figures will contribute their insights through a series of panel discussions covering the broader market outlook, as well as innovation across different therapeutic sectors.
The main programme for the 26th Annual BEF is spread throughout 2 days (7th - 8th of October) and will feature more than 15 hours of high-level keynotes and panel discussions. In addition, there will be a global company showcase of 50+ presentations by established public, private, emerging, and seed companies, offering innovative solutions and seeking investment and partnering opportunities. This will include a limited number of live presentations taking place in dedicated parallel presentation tracks, including the plenary Rising Stars – Biotech Seed Companies Session, covering biotech, drug discovery, and diagnostic start-ups from across Europe. In addition, there will be virtual company showcases available on demand during the virtual week.
We anticipate 650+ delegates will register for the forum from across the life sciences sector, bringing together a global audience of senior pharma, biotech, and HealthTech executives, bankers, consultants, and financial and corporate investors, alongside a select number of service providers, with part of the audience also participating virtually. Supported and designed by leading figures within Europe’s pharmaceutical and biotech industry, this event will once again be covered by our regular media partners.
The In-Person meetings will take place during the physical event on the 7th - 8th of October, while virtual meetings will be held on the 13th - 15th of October. For virtual meetings, the system will allow you to have a secure audio/video call, as well as the option to present slides using a screen share function, and we will have a dedicated room for in-person meetings. We expect over 2000 meetings to be completed during SALSW. The conference will be held in the Central European Summer Time (CEST) zone. The programme will consist of:
Day 1 (Wednesday, 7th of October)
- State of the Industry Panel
- Keynote Speech "The Biotech Briefing: Capital Markets & M&A Playbook" by Michael Margolis, Senior Managing Director, Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
- VC & Private Equity Investor Roundtable
- Advances in Immunology & Inflammation Panel: Investor Perspectives
- Investment Opportunities in Women’s Health Panel
- Neuroscience Innovation Panel
Day 2 (Thursday, 8th of October)
- Pharma Strategy & Dealmaking Panel
- China Partnering & Investment Panel
- Latest Trends in Oncology Partnering Panel
- Advanced Oncology Investment Panel
- Investing in Early-Stage Innovation Panel
- Rising Stars – Biotech Seed Companies Session
Farewell Reception – 8th of October
In-Person Meetings – 7th - 8th of October
Virtual Meetings via Online Meeting System – 13th - 15th of October
Confirmed Keynote Speakers Include:
- Michael Margolis, Senior Managing Director, Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
Confirmed Chairs & Speakers Include:
- Alexander Gebauer, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Galimedix Therapeutics, Inc.
- Allan Marchington, Managing Director, Head of Life Sciences, Intermediate Capital Group PLC
- Anastasiya Sybirna, Principal, Jeito Capital
- Anu Balendran, Head of Transactions, BD&L - CRM, Novartis Pharma AG
- Audrey Cacaly, Life Science Venture Capital Principal, Forbion
- Barbara Castellano, Partner, Panakès Partners SGR SpA
- Birgit Steckel-Hamann, Associate Vice President, External Innovation, S&E, Cardiometabolic & Women's Health, Eli Lilly and Company
- Chandra Leo, Investment Advisor, HBM Partners AG
- Corinne Venot, VP, Global Business Development, BeOne Medicines I GmbH
- Daniel Rankin, SVP, Head of Strategy & Corporate Development, Sobi
- Darren Ji, CEO, Elpiscience Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.
- Eric de La Fortelle, Head of Business Development and Strategy, IOB - Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel
- Esteban Pombo-Villar, Board Member, TargImmune Therapeutics AG
- Evonne Sepsis, Managing Director, ESC Advisors
- Georgia Frost, Senior Associate, Dementia Discovery Fund 2 L.P. (SV Health Investors)
- Hannah England, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
- Hugh Nuthall, Executive Director, Search & Evaluation Neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company
- Ivana Labudovic, Chief Safety Officer and Head Global Pharmacovigilance, Organon
- Jan-Philipp Kruse, Senior Director, Lilly Ventures , Eli Lilly and Company
- Jeremy Griggs, Executive Director, Search & Evaluation, GSK
- Jerry Wu, Managing Director, LongRiver Investments
- Joachim Vogt, Director Search & Evaluation International, AbbVie, Inc.
- Jonathan Tobin, Partner, Brandon Capital
- Julia Braun, Partner, Baker McKenzie
- Katya Smirnyagina, Senior Partner, Oxford Science Enterprises
- Khatereh Ahmadi, Venture Partner, XGEN Venture SGR SPA
- Konstantin Petropoulos, CEO, Secarna Pharmaceuticals GmbH & Co. KG
- Maria Dahl, Executive Director, BD&L, Novartis Pharma AG
- Mark Bodmer, CEO, Nucleome Therapeutics Ltd.
- Michael Altorfer, CEO, Swiss Biotech Association
- Michael Hübner, Director Early Innovation Partnering, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC
- Michael Margolis, Senior Managing Director, Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
- Michael Rice, Expert Advisor, SVP, Cell & Gene Therapy, Lumanity
- Natalia Novac, CEO, Phialogics AG
- Nuno Alves, Business Development Lead, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.
- Peter Gergely, VP, Global Head of TM for Immunology, Novartis AG
- Peter Louwagie, SVP Corporate Development and BD&L, Genmab A/S
- Phil Masterson, Associate Director of Ventures, Cancer Research Horizons
- Regina Hodits, Managing Director, Angelini Ventures S.p.A.
- Renée Aguiar-Lucander, CEO, Hansa Biopharma AB
- Richard Munton, Senior Business Development Director, F. Hoffmann-La Roche
- Sam Fazeli, Head of Research, Global Industries & Senior Pharmaceuticals Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence
- Samuel Black, Director Business Development Neurology & Immunology, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
- Sarah Holland, President of Swiss Healthcare Licensing Group & CBO, CDR-Life AG
- Stephan Emmerth, Director, BaseLaunch
- Thibaut Roulon, Senior Investment Director, Bpifrance
- Tim Haines, Executive Partner, Managing Director, Abingworth LLP
- Vanessa Carle, Principal, Forbion
- More TBA...
