DDIF 2027 · The programme
12 May 2027 · 08:15 · Registration · 30 min
12 May 2027 · 08:45 · Chair's opening · 15 min
Dr Uwe Gottschalk, Operating Partner · Former CSO, Lonza, Keensight Capital · Harsukh Parmar, Former SVP, Global Head of Research & Early Development, Merck KGaA
Why it matters
DDIF opens on the proof decision. Uwe Gottschalk and Harsukh Parmar chair the room together and set its question.
12 May 2027 · 09:00 · Keynote · 45 min
Klaus Baek Simonsen, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research, Grünenthal
Thesis
Discovery now designs faster than it can prove.
Why it matters
The Chairs have set the proof decision. Klaus Baek Simonsen, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research at Grünenthal, sets out what a designed molecule must show before the portfolio backs it. The sessions that follow test his answer.
12 May 2027 · 09:45 · Revvity Signals · 30 min
David Gosalvez, Chief Strategy Officer, Revvity Signals
Thesis
Model creation gives way to model operation.
Why it matters
The era of model creation is giving way to the era of model operation. AI-driven discovery will only reach its potential when intelligence moves from isolated prototypes to managed, scalable services embedded in R&D workflows.
12 May 2027 · 10:15 · Voices · 30 min
Garry Pairaudeau, CEO and Co-Founder, DaltonTx
Thesis
The constraint has moved from molecule to mechanism.
Why it matters
Design capability is no longer the scarce part of discovery. This keynote asks whether the constraint now sits in the biology, and what that changes at the bench. The coffee follows, then the capital question.
12 May 2027 · 10:45 · Coffee · curated meetings · 30 min
12 May 2027 · 11:15 · Panel · 30 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Capital follows clinical proof, not platform promise.
Why it matters
Capital in discovery now gathers around molecule design and assets already in human testing. Pharma R&D, an AI native biotech and an investor ask what a platform must prove to be backed. The short talks that follow test the answer.
12 May 2027 · 11:45 · Short talk · 15 min
Christian Olsen, VP, Strategy, Dotmatics
Thesis
Data is valued only when it changes a decision.
Why it matters
Every discovery company claims its data as an asset. This provocation asks when that data earns a value a buyer will pay for.
12 May 2027 · 12:00 · Short talk · 15 min
Nicolas Triballeau, Director, Drug Discovery Chemistry, Revvity Signals
Thesis
Models need shared data; companies guard their molecules.
Why it matters
The best models want data no single company will share. This provocation asks whether federated approaches close that gap without giving the chemistry away.
12 May 2027 · 12:15 · Short talk · 15 min
Werngard Czechtizky, Vice President, Small Molecule Discovery, GSK
Thesis
Design is fast; make and test still set the pace.
Why it matters
Design now takes days; the cycle still takes weeks. This provocation asks where the time is lost between the design and the decision. Lunch carries it to the tables.
12 May 2027 · 12:30 · Lunch · curated meetings · 75 min
12 May 2027 · 13:45 · Turbine · 20 min
Szabolcs Nagy, Co-Founder and CEO, Turbine
Thesis
The virtual experiment decides which wet experiments matter.
Why it matters
The virtual experiment does not replace the wet lab. It decides which experiments are worth running, and at what scale. Turbine's simulated cell platform has rationalised discovery decisions across more than thirty programmes with top ten pharma partners.
12 May 2027 · 14:05 · Voices · 20 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
A model proposes the candidate; a person signs for it.
Why it matters
AI derived candidates are now reaching the portfolio decision. This session asks who signs for them and on what evidence. Day Two's AI Strategy discussion takes the question further.
12 May 2027 · 14:25 · Voices · 20 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Some experiments are the proof itself.
Why it matters
Models now promise to skip experiments. This session asks which ones remain the proof, and who decides.
12 May 2027 · 14:45 · Coffee · curated meetings · 30 min
12 May 2027 · 15:15 · Voices · 15 min
Rory Stark, Senior Director, AI & ML, Altos Labs
Thesis
Chemistry finds binders; biology decides medicines.
Why it matters
Most design models learn chemistry first and biology second. This provocation asks what changes when the model starts from the biology.
12 May 2027 · 15:30 · Voices · 15 min
Ayelet Ofarim, Principal Scientific Advisor, AI, EMEA, CAS
Thesis
A model inherits every flaw in its data.
Why it matters
Curation is the least visible work in AI discovery. This provocation asks who owns it and what it costs when it is skipped.
12 May 2027 · 15:45 · Voices · 15 min
Joanna Holbrook, Founder and Principal, moto bio
Thesis
Portfolios must stop what models still favour.
Why it matters
Models rarely say stop. This provocation asks when a portfolio should overrule one, and who carries that call.
12 May 2027 · 16:00 · Voices · 15 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Regulators admit new evidence without lowering the standard.
Why it matters
The FDA now admits non animal methods, and ICH M15 is in effect at the EMA. This provocation asks what that evidence asks of discovery teams before the first human dose.
12 May 2027 · 16:15 · Voices · 15 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Build or buy decides who owns the next discovery.
Why it matters
Pharma now tests design capability at its own bench before it buys. This provocation asks what a European discovery team should keep in house. The themed tables take it from there.
12 May 2027 · 16:30 · Themed discussion · Chatham House Rule · 30 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
The room sets the question and keeps the answer.
Why it matters
The theme comes from the room's own ranked preferences, gathered before the forum.
12 May 2027 · 17:00 · Leaders Panel · 30 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Discovery leaders decide what counts as proof.
Why it matters
The day has tested what a designed molecule must prove. Chief scientific officers and heads of R&D now answer who sets that bar. The Chair's close follows, and the dinner tables take it up.
12 May 2027 · 17:30 · Chair's closing remarks · 15 min
Dr Uwe Gottschalk, Operating Partner · Former CSO, Lonza, Keensight Capital · Harsukh Parmar, Former SVP, Global Head of Research & Early Development, Merck KGaA
Why it matters
The Chairs close Day One on what a designed molecule must prove. The tables at dinner carry it forward.
12 May 2027 · 17:45 · Drinks · refresh
12 May 2027 · 19:00 · Gala dinner · themed tables · The Savoy
13 May 2027 · 09:00 · Chair's opening · 10 min
Dr Uwe Gottschalk, Operating Partner · Former CSO, Lonza, Keensight Capital · Harsukh Parmar, Former SVP, Global Head of Research & Early Development, Merck KGaA
Why it matters
Day Two turns from proof to accountability. The Chairs open on who answers when the model is wrong.
13 May 2027 · 09:10 · Changeover · 5 min
13 May 2027 · 09:15 · Keynote · 45 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Models now inform decisions; people still answer for them.
Why it matters
The Chairs have named who answers when the model is wrong. This keynote asks what a leader must understand of the model before signing the decision it informs. The safety question follows.
13 May 2027 · 10:00 · Voices · 30 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Predicting harm is easier than acting on the prediction.
Why it matters
Toxicity models now flag risk before the first animal study. This session asks whether a team will stop a programme on that flag. The coffee follows, then the AI Strategy discussion.
13 May 2027 · 10:30 · Coffee · curated meetings · 30 min
13 May 2027 · 11:00 · AI Strategy · 30 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Faster to the clinic. Not yet better in it.
Why it matters
McKinsey's September 2026 analysis finds AI-enabled programmes reaching first-in-human milestones 15 to 80 percent faster than large pharma medians. IQVIA's 2026 R&D trends report puts their Phase I success at 75%, yet Phase II results match programmes built without AI. This session tests where AI changes the decision in discovery and design, not only the speed.
13 May 2027 · 11:30 · Voices · 30 min
Dinesh de Alwis, Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical Drug Development, Generate Biomedicines
Thesis
More hits do not mean better candidates.
Why it matters
Screening platforms now report higher hit rates. This session asks whether that changes what reaches the clinic, after the AI Strategy discussion asked the same of speed.
13 May 2027 · 12:00 · Panel · 30 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Errors travel downstream; accountability must travel with them.
Why it matters
A model's error made in discovery is paid for in development. Discovery, development and safety leads ask how accountability travels with the molecule. The tables at lunch take the question into the afternoon.
13 May 2027 · 12:30 · Lunch · curated meetings · 75 min
13 May 2027 · 13:45 · Voices · 20 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Physics and learning each fail where the other holds.
Why it matters
Learned models lead the headlines; physics still holds where data is thin. This session asks where each earns trust in design.
13 May 2027 · 14:05 · Voices · 20 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Fast models make slow projects unstable.
Why it matters
Models now revise the plan faster than teams can deliver it. This session asks how project delivery holds when the design moves every week.
13 May 2027 · 14:25 · Voices · 20 min
Laura Matz, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, Philips
Thesis
Autonomy in the lab still needs a signature.
Why it matters
Closed loop labs now design, make and test with little human input. This session asks what they must prove before a team trusts them to run alone. The afternoon coffee follows.
13 May 2027 · 14:45 · Coffee · curated meetings · 30 min
13 May 2027 · 15:15 · Voices · 15 min
Michael Tolentino, CEO, Vesicor Therapeutics
Thesis
Phase I success is not Phase II proof.
Why it matters
AI derived molecules are now reaching patients. This provocation asks whether they translate any better than molecules built without AI.
13 May 2027 · 15:30 · Voices · 15 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
Deals pay milestones for molecules, not platforms.
Why it matters
Discovery deals now pay for design capability up front and molecules later. This provocation asks what a partner should pay for, and when.
13 May 2027 · 15:45 · Voices · 15 min
Jonathan Mason, Senior Research Advisor, Drug Design, Independent
Thesis
Every generation of design tools promised the same speed.
Why it matters
Design has been promised a revolution before. This provocation asks what forty years of practice teaches the AI generation.
13 May 2027 · 16:00 · Voices · 15 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
The handover to development now includes the model.
Why it matters
Development inherits the model as well as the molecule. This provocation asks what discovery must hand over for the decision to stay accountable. The themed tables carry it into the Chairs' close.
13 May 2027 · 16:15 · Themed discussion · Chatham House Rule · 30 min
Announced shortly
Thesis
The room sets the question and keeps the answer.
Why it matters
The theme comes from the room's own ranked preferences, gathered before the forum.
13 May 2027 · 16:45 · Chair's closing remarks · 15 min
Dr Uwe Gottschalk, Operating Partner · Former CSO, Lonza, Keensight Capital · Harsukh Parmar, Former SVP, Global Head of Research & Early Development, Merck KGaA
Why it matters
The Chairs close DDIF on what the room carries out of London. What it decides here travels with the AI Strategy thread.
13 May 2027 · 17:00 · Close
Discovery designs faster than it can prove.
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