Ecosystem innovation at BIO‑Europe 2026
Nov 9–11, 2026 Cologne, Germany ~5.8k attendees Website
71 organizations at BIO-Europe 2026 present work in ecosystem innovation: 31 drug developers, 15 academic, government and non-profit bodies, 13 investors and 12 service providers. Between them they bring 109 presentations to the program. Most represented: Merck KGaA (9 on the program), Bayer (7 on the program), Boehringer Ingelheim (4 on the program). 28 of them have their own page in this guide. As of Sep 29, 2026.
Format
Top represented
Showing 1–11 of 71 organizations
| Organization | BIO-Europe 2026 Attendance |
|---|---|
Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany | ◆Platinum Sponsor |
Science and technology company active in healthcare, life science and electronics; operates as EMD Serono and MilliporeSigma in North America. | Talk Mon Nov 9 15:00–16:15 Merck's EMEA Advance Biotech Grant Program Five young biotech companies pitch their science to Merck, competing for a grant that helps them bring a product to market. Panel Mon Nov 9 13:00–13:45 Open Innovation in Action: How Pharma Is Rewiring the Drug Discovery Ecosystem How big drug companies share their collections of test molecules and data with outside scientists to speed up early drug discovery. Panel Tue Nov 10 14:00–14:45 Immunology under the microscope: New frontiers What is new in drugs for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases: emerging targets, recent trial results, and where companies are investing and partnering. Panel Tue Nov 10 16:00–16:45 Unlocking Clinical Trial Systems How EU clinical trial rules and a planned EU biotech law affect trial approval times, and whether Europe can speed up safely. Panel Wed Nov 11 09:00–09:45 From NAMs (New Approach Methodologies) Innovation to Regulatory acceptance: Accelerating human-relevant modelling How lab models built on human biology, from organs-on-chips to AI computer models, can speed drug development and win regulators' acceptance. |
Bayer Leverkusen, Germany | ◆Platinum Sponsor |
Life sciences company with pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop science divisions. | Talk Tue Nov 10 09:00–09:30 An Outlook into the Year 2050: Navigating the Future of Efficiency and Innovation How AI, global expansion and patient community outreach may reshape the way clinical trials are run, and what to change now to prepare. Panel Tue Nov 10 15:00–15:25 Inside the Incubator: What It Really Takes to Build a Biotech Company Today What incubators backed by big drug companies look for in young biotechs, and how they help founders with money, advice and partners. Panel Tue Nov 10 17:00–17:45 Resilient by Design: Reinventing Biopharma Alliances in a Fragmenting World How drug companies are reshaping research and manufacturing partnerships to stay reliable as political tensions and supply chain risks divide the world. Business of BiotechBiomanufacturing Strategy Panel Tue Nov 10 16:30–16:55 The Role of Innovation in Biopharma Growth How new ideas and technologies drive growth for drug companies, and how to keep innovating while scaling up, with real examples. Panel Wed Nov 11 10:00–10:45 AI Regulations: Driving Innovation While Navigating Compliance What rules cover AI in drug development, where European and US regulators agree, and how rules could help rather than hinder innovation. Panel Wed Nov 11 09:00–10:00 Collaborative Innovation in CDMO Partnerships How drug companies and contract manufacturers develop new therapies together, with examples of what makes these partnerships work and where they struggle. |
Boehringer Ingelheim Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany | ◆Platinum Sponsor |
Family-owned pharmaceutical company developing human and animal health medicines. | Panel Mon Nov 9 13:00–13:45 Open Innovation in Action: How Pharma Is Rewiring the Drug Discovery Ecosystem How big drug companies share their collections of test molecules and data with outside scientists to speed up early drug discovery. Talk Tue Nov 10 13:00–14:00 Biologics Manufacturing Excellence How makers of biologics, drugs made in living cells, can expand capacity, clear production bottlenecks and use new technology to work more efficiently. Panel Wed Nov 11 10:00–10:45 Envisioning the future of ophthalmology What new data show about treatments for retinal disease, glaucoma and other eye conditions, and where investors see the most promise. Panel Wed Nov 11 10:00–10:45 Most Favoured Nations: A Game-Changer for Biotech Dealmaker? How the US 'most favoured nation' policy, which ties US drug prices to prices paid abroad, is changing drug deals and European launch plans. |
Johnson & Johnson New Brunswick, NJ | ◇Silver Sponsor |
Healthcare company developing innovative medicines and medical technologies; its Innovation unit partners with external researchers and start-ups. | Panel Mon Nov 9 16:15–17:00 Building the Next Global Biotech Hubs: What Makes an Innovation Ecosystem Work? What makes a region a strong biotech hub, from talent, labs and funding to links with global drug companies. Panel Tue Nov 10 10:00–10:25 Regulatory Updates for Orphan and Paediatric Medicines How updated EU drug laws change the rewards for rare-disease and children's medicines, such as longer protection from competing copies. Panel Wed Nov 11 10:00–10:45 Envisioning the future of ophthalmology What new data show about treatments for retinal disease, glaucoma and other eye conditions, and where investors see the most promise. Panel Wed Nov 11 13:00–13:45 What's Next for Biomanufacturing Strategies? Where the manufacturing of biological medicines is heading, from sturdier supply chains and industry mergers to AI and new ways to scale up. |
AstraZeneca Cambridge, United Kingdom | |
Global pharmaceutical company developing medicines in oncology, cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, immunology and rare diseases. | Panel Mon Nov 9 17:00–17:45 AI in the Lab: Why Greater Efficiency Could Mean More Drugs, Not Fewer Scientists Why AI that forms hypotheses and guides experiments could mean more drug candidates, not fewer scientists, and how to pick which to pursue. Ecosystem InnovationBusiness of Biotech Panel Tue Nov 10 16:00–16:45 Unlocking Clinical Trial Systems How EU clinical trial rules and a planned EU biotech law affect trial approval times, and whether Europe can speed up safely. Panel Wed Nov 11 11:00–11:30 Sustainability & Innovation: Transforming Biopharma Partnerships for a Greener Future How drug companies, smaller firms and suppliers can team up to cut supply chain carbon emissions and bring greener technologies to industrial scale. |
EUCOPE Brussels, Belgium | |
Trade association representing small and mid-sized innovative pharmaceutical and biotech companies in Europe. | Panel Tue Nov 10 10:30–10:55 Addressing Unmet Medical Needs in Europe’s Evolving Pharmaceutical Landscape How regulators judge which diseases lack good treatments, which faster approval routes apply, and whether recent EU drug law changes have helped. Panel Wed Nov 11 13:00–13:45 HTA Regulation: Early Insights and Reimbursement Implications Early lessons from the EU's new joint reviews of how much new drugs help patients, and whether they ease or hinder patient access. Panel Wed Nov 11 10:00–10:45 Most Favoured Nations: A Game-Changer for Biotech Dealmaker? How the US 'most favoured nation' policy, which ties US drug prices to prices paid abroad, is changing drug deals and European launch plans. |
Miltenyi Biomedicine Bergisch Gladbach, Germany | |
Clinical-stage company of the Miltenyi Group developing CAR-T and other cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune disease. | Panel Tue Nov 10 10:00–10:45 Accelerating Access to Innovative Therapies for European Patients Through Integrated Decision-Making How approval, benefit reviews and pricing decisions could run side by side instead of one after another, so European patients get new medicines sooner. Panel Tue Nov 10 09:30–09:55 From Clinical Success to Commercial Readiness: Strategic Lessons in Bringing Advanced Therapies to Patients Lessons from preparing cell and gene therapies for launch by planning manufacturing, approval and reimbursement alongside the clinical trials. Talk Wed Nov 11 09:30–09:55 Bridging Therapeutic Areas: Navigating the Oncology–Autoimmune Convergence in Cellular Therapies What changes when cell therapies first developed for cancer move into autoimmune disease, from acceptable safety risks and trial endpoints to manufacturing. |
Sofinnova Partners Paris, France | |
Life sciences venture capital firm investing from seed to late stage in biotech, medtech and industrial biotech. | Panel Mon Nov 9 17:00–17:45 AI in the Lab: Why Greater Efficiency Could Mean More Drugs, Not Fewer Scientists Why AI that forms hypotheses and guides experiments could mean more drug candidates, not fewer scientists, and how to pick which to pursue. Ecosystem InnovationBusiness of Biotech Panel Mon Nov 9 16:00–16:45 Cell and Gene Therapy: What Should You Know? Where cell and gene therapies stand today, what recent clinical and sales data show, and how funding and partnerships are changing. Panel Mon Nov 9 16:00–16:45 Fuelling Innovation: The State of Early-Stage Investment in Biotech Investors and founders discuss how young biotech startups raise early funding today and how venture investors' priorities are shifting. |
Informa London, United Kingdom | |
Events, publishing and data group that runs BIO-Europe and publishes BioXconomy. | Keynote Mon Nov 9 10:45–11:00 Panel Tue Nov 10 09:00–09:45 Networks or neurons: What’s next in CNS dealmaking? What is driving recent deals between biotechs and larger drug companies for brain and nervous system drugs, which remain hard to develop. Panel Wed Nov 11 14:00–14:45 BIO-Europe Media Round-Up: The Stories Shaping Biopharma Right Now Journalists pick out the biggest biopharma news stories and deal trends of the moment and explain what they mean for dealmakers. |
Astellas Tokyo, Japan | ◇Silver Sponsor |
Japanese pharmaceutical company developing medicines in oncology, ophthalmology, urology and immunology. | Panel Mon Nov 9 13:00–14:00 Navigating partnering and business development in a shifting global landscape How funding conditions, treatment trends and geopolitics are shaping partnerships and acquisitions between drug and biotech companies, with real deal examples. Panel Wed Nov 11 10:00–10:45 Most Favoured Nations: A Game-Changer for Biotech Dealmaker? How the US 'most favoured nation' policy, which ties US drug prices to prices paid abroad, is changing drug deals and European launch plans. |
59 North Communications Stockholm, Sweden | |
Communications agency providing branding, PR and digital marketing for life science, biotech and pharmaceutical companies. | Panel Mon Nov 9 16:15–17:00 Building the Next Global Biotech Hubs: What Makes an Innovation Ecosystem Work? What makes a region a strong biotech hub, from talent, labs and funding to links with global drug companies. Panel Wed Nov 11 13:00–13:45 AI-Powered Ecosystems: Transforming Drug Discovery Through Digital Collaboration How drug, biotech and tech companies can build AI partnerships, and why AI finds easier wins in early discovery than in later clinical stages. |
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