Here’s what pharma execs predict for 2026

Let’s travel back to 2024, when pharmaceutical executives told Healthcare Brew they had their eyes on compounding, AI, and GLP-1s for the year ahead.

Now, flash forward a year. Those were indeed some of the trends that defined and continue to define pharma. But alongside those came threats of tariffs, new advertising rules, retail pharmacy bankruptcies, and other hurdles.

Now, we’re asking leaders in the pharmaceutical space once again: What do you predict for 2026?

These answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Diogo Rau, EVP and chief information and digital officer, Eli Lilly

In 2026, I’m hopeful we’ll see meaningful unlocks in pharma from two forces: smarter use of data and stronger AI infrastructure. The hardest part of bringing AI to bear isn’t the algorithm—it’s the data. Most published science highlights successes, but real insights can often also lie in what didn’t work. At Lilly, we’re tapping decades of structured experimental data, including failed attempts, and using federated learning models to let companies learn from each other without exposing proprietary information. At the same time, pharma leaders are investing in robust tech stacks to train larger, more sophisticated models and enable emerging capabilities like agentic AI.

Sarah Kleinpeter, SVP, SVP and head of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia franchise, Biogen

In 2026, I believe we will see important steps toward Alzheimer’s care that is more timely and more aligned with each person’s needs. With tools like blood-based biomarkers, digital assessments, and analytic technologies becoming more available, clinicians can gain clearer insight earlier in the care journey, which will evolve to support individuals and families who are in the earliest stages of the disease before symptoms emerge.

Chrys Kokino, president, Accord BioPharma North America

[Analytics company] IQVIA projects 118 biologics representing $232 billion will lose patent protection through 2034, yet 90% have no biosimilars in development. Success now requires the operational discipline and hyperfocus on patients to compete in highly competitive categories such as ustekinumab [a monoclonal antibody for inflammatory conditions like Crohn’s disease], while capitalizing on the significant value opportunities that remain in markets like trastuzumab [a monoclonal antibody cancer drug].