From biotech to policy: reasons to be at Breakthrough East

March 19, 2026

BREAKTHROUGH EAST | NYC + ONLINE

Dear readers,

In just two weeks, we'll convene in New York for the STAT Breakthrough Summit East. We promise a regimen of conversations to make you sharper and more aware, delivering a bolus of ideas that will last through the year.

Our protocol:

Dealmakers and drug hunters: We'll sit down with the legendary biotech banker and former Biogen chair Stelios Papadopoulos for a large dose of perspective. Jacob Van Naarden, Eli Lilly's head of oncology and business development, has seen biotech dealmaking from both sides of the table, and will explain both. Sharon Mates took a neuroscience idea from a Nobel laureate's lab to a $14.6 billion deal with J&J. We'll sit down with the R&D heads of Bristol Myers Squibb, Alnylam, and Biogen, and with three veterans of the gene therapy space.

D.C. power players: We'll hear from Chris Klomp, director of Medicare and the deputy administrator of CMS, and a key figure in the Trump administration's negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. And STAT's Lizzy Lawrence, who just shared in a George Polk Award for her reporting on the FDA, will sit down with former FDA commissioner Robert Califf to discuss an agency under fire.

Fixing a failure to communicate: Several of the top health influencers on social media — Jessica Knurick, Morgan McSweeney, Jessica Malaty Rivera, and Darien Sutton will examine the scale and impact of health misinformation online, from the wellness economy to leaders at the highest levels of U.S. health institutions.

VIEW THE AGENDA

Every session will be moderated by STAT's award-winning journalists, and we'll take questions from audience members in the room and those watching online. You won't find a more informed or engaged group.

I hope to see you there.