Healthcare
Reuters Pharma Europe 2026: what we're watching for
We'll be at Reuters Pharma Europe in Barcelona this May. A few themes we're expecting to hear, and a few we hope we don't.
What we expect to hear — again
Most industry conferences run on a kind of loop. Patient centricity. AI transformation. Omnichannel orchestration. Value-based pricing. The words change; the underlying questions don't move much year to year.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. The problems are hard. But it is worth noticing when an industry keeps describing a problem and never quite describing what to do about it.
Three themes we're watching more carefully
1. Behaviour, not just data, in omnichannel
Last year the conversation was about tech stacks. This year we're hoping to hear teams talk about what their customers actually do — and what omnichannel is supposed to change in that behaviour. A channel is a means, not a strategy.
2. GLP-1 spillover into non-obesity categories
The interesting question isn't whether GLP-1s are reshaping obesity and cardio-metabolic. It's what they're teaching everyone else about patient demand, cash-pay willingness, and the role of the primary care physician. Categories adjacent to obesity are about to feel the pressure regardless of whether they have a GLP-1 on their label.
3. AI that makes teams slower
We're seeing a pattern: AI pilots that technically work but don't reduce the cycle time on anything a brand team actually does. The interesting sessions will be the ones honest enough to talk about which pilots were quietly shelved and why.
What we hope we don't hear
A panel on patient centricity that doesn't mention a patient by name. A case study on omnichannel that reports on impressions and not on outcomes. Another keynote about "reimagining" something that has in fact remained more or less the same for five years.
If you're going to be there
Martin will be there for the two days. If you want to meet up — over coffee, between sessions, or in the hallway — drop him a note. Short conversations, no slides.