Drug Discovery Reimagined: From Data to Decisions
October 6, 2026
Novartis (700 Main St. Building)
Join us in Cambridge, MA on October 6 for a premier gathering of senior leaders who are shaping the future of drug discovery. This exclusive, invite-only event, co-hosted by CAS and Novartis, is designed to foster strategic connections and share insights that are transforming the pharma and biotech industries.
Why attend?
Engage with peers: Build relationships with a select group of senior leaders from across the global pharma and biotech ecosystem.
Gain new perspectives: Explore how data and AI are reshaping drug discovery, from data strategy and target discovery to predictive safety, synthesis, and agentic workflows, and leave with a clearer view of where the field is heading.
Shape the conversation: Share your expertise and help define how the industry puts these advances to work.
"I sincerely want to thank you for the invitation to the event. The content of the discussions was very interesting and enriching. The sharing of experiences seemed to me quite candid and therefore truly useful.” - 2025 CAS Innovation Summit Attendee
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Speakers
Muneto Mogi, Ph.D.
Global Head, Global Discovery Chemistry
Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research
View profileAgenda
Time
Session
Session details
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
9:00 am
-9:30 am
Registration
Coffee, tea, and light refreshments provided
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
9:30 am
-9:45 am
Welcome by CAS and Novartis
Muneto Mogi, Head, Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis
Tim Wahlberg, Interim President, CAS
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
9:45 am
-10:45 am
Make Data Actionable
Bryan Harkleroad, Director, Solutions Development, CAS (moderator)
Leela Dodda, Director of AI & Computational Chemistry, Nimbus Therapeutics
Irene Pak, Head, Data Strategy, D&D, Novartis
Nandini Patel, Head of Chemistry, Rgenta Therapeutics
Advantage comes not from more data, but from turning it into trusted insights and faster decisions. Leaders share how they make data a catalyst for discovery rather than a passive asset.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
10:45 am
-11:00 am
Break
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
11:00 am
-12:00 pm
AI Meets Biology: Transforming Target Discovery
Jeremy Jenkins, Head, Discovery Sciences, Novartis (moderator)
Orr Ravitz, Product Manager, CAS
The convergence of AI, data, and biological insight is reshaping target identification and what is possible in the next era of drug discovery.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
12:00 pm
-1:15 pm
Lunch
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
1:15 pm
-2:15 pm
Predictive Safety: Trust the Signal
Russ Naven, Head, Predictive Safety Data Exploration, Novartis (moderator)
Matt Martin, Head of Computational Safety Sciences, Pfizer
Mohan Rao, Distinguished Scientist, Sanofi
Falgun Shah, Senior Director, Computational Toxicology, Merck
Safety failures are among the leading causes of drug attrition. AI, predictive models, and translational science help teams identify risks earlier and de-risk before the clinic.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
2:15 pm
-3:15 pm
Route to Reality: Digital Retrosynthesis Meets Lab Automation
Kian Tan, Director, Syntech, Novartis (moderator)
Connor W. Coley, Associate Professor at MIT
Jonathan Grob, VP Small Molecules, Ginkgo Bioworks
Lucius Kemp, Science Director, Biosero
Reducing time from idea to experiment is a competitive advantage. AI synthesis planning and lab automation speed up Design-Make-Test-Analyze cycles and enable faster portfolio decisions.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
3:15 pm
-3:30 pm
Break
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
3:30 pm
-4:30 pm
How Agentic AI Accelerates Drug Discovery
Andrea Jacobs, Senior Director of Artificial Intelligence, CAS (moderator)
Andrea Bortolato, VP Drug Discovery, SandboxAQ
Ashwini Ghogare, Life Science BD Leader, Frontier AI Startups, AWS
Rishi R. Gupta, Director, Novartis
Agentic AI is moving from concept to practice in R&D. Explore where agents already speed up discovery, what it takes for scientists to trust their output, and how leaders can sequence adoption.
Venue and travel
Novartis (700 Main St. Building)
700 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Getting here
By air
Boston Logan (BOS) is about a 20-minute drive in moderate traffic.
By transit
Kendall/MIT or Central stations (MBTA Red Line) are each about a 10-minute walk from the venue.
By car
Drive or rideshare to 700 Main Street. See parking options below.
Parking
| Garage | Walk | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|
Osborn TriangleClosest 1 Portland St | 3 min. | $46 |
UPMITLowest rate 55 Franklin St | 4 min | $43 |
Landsdowne Street 80 Landsdowne St | 4 min. | $48 |
Street parking is not recommended (two-hour limit enforced). Local parking garages are not affiliated with Novartis and are not eligible for Novartis rates. Commuter cards are accepted at the garages above, but must be processed as a credit card payment (not as a debit).
Hotels
Questions about this event?
About CAS
CAS connects the world's scientific knowledge to accelerate breakthroughs that improve lives. We are the scientific data intelligence partner empowering global innovators to capture the promise of AI and achieve real-world results. CAS builds the world’s largest collection of scientist-curated data. That foundation underpins our portfolio of science-smart insights platforms and integrates with R&D workflows for more confident decisions and reliable predictions. As a pioneer at the intersection of scientific data and AI-driven discovery, CAS enables leaders in life sciences, chemistry, and materials with the unique capabilities and expertise that deliver transformative innovation. CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society.
Novartis is an innovative medicines company. Every day, we work to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives so that patients, healthcare professionals and societies are empowered in the face of serious disease. Our medicines reach 304 million people worldwide.
Learn more
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Supercharging R&D: How AI helps us to bring medicines to patients faster
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September 18, 2026