What's on the Agenda at the DIA-MHRA Global Summit
The DIA-MHRA Global Summit program is built around five themes: advanced therapies, patient access, data and AI, global alignment, and investment and growth. Newly confirmed speakers across the two-day agenda at Senate House, University of London, show how each theme will play out session by session.
Global alignment anchors Session 2, From Regulatory Science to Global Leadership, where David Willetts, Chair of the Regulatory Innovation Office, joins Professor Sir Martin Landray of Oxford Population Health and DIA Chief Science and Regulatory Officer Maria Vassileva to examine how UK regulatory science can accelerate innovation. The theme returns in Session 7, Leading Together, where Dan O'Connor of the ABPI and MHRA's James Pound co-chair a genuinely international panel: Hisham Saad Aljadhey, CEO of Saudi Arabia's Food and Drug Authority, Tony Lawler of Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration, Vincenza Trivigno of Swissmedic, and Pamela Aung-Thin discuss what global regulatory collaboration looks like in practice.
Patient access and advanced therapies run through the afternoon sessions. In Session 3A, Are Innovative Products Reaching the Patients Who Need Them Most?, Jim Wilson of GemmaBio and Nick Meade of Genetic Alliance address the gap between regulatory approval and real-world access. Session 5, Advanced Therapies for Rare Diseases, brings together Julia Vitarello of Mila's Miracle Foundation, John Crowley of the Biotechnology Innovation Organisation, and Silvia Cerolini of Eyes on the Future to discuss what makes rare disease development feasible and access sustainable.
Data and AI span three sessions. Session 3B, Unlocking Data to Power Health Innovation and Safety, features MHRA Chief Safety Officer Alison Cave alongside Rory Collins of UK Biobank. Session 4, Beyond the Physical Trial, turns to in silico modelling and AI-enabled methods with MHRA's Jacob George, Alejandro Frangi, Piet Van der Graaf, Michael von Forstner, and Yan Yiannakou. Session 6, AI and the Converging Rules for Innovation, pairs Jennifer Dixon of the Health Foundation and MHRA's Ed Middleton with Alastair Denniston, who chairs MHRA's National Commission on AI in Healthcare, Ricardo Baptista Leite of HealthAI, and Will War.
Investment and growth close the Summit in Session 8, Navigating the 2026 Life Sciences Geopolitical Landscape, where Sahir Ali of Modi Ventures, Chris Molloy of the BioIndustry Association, and James O'Shaughnessy of Newmarket Strategy examine capital, policy, and global markets shaping UK life sciences.
With more than 25 speakers now confirmed across eight sessions, the DIA-MHRA Global Summit program reflects its aim: connecting regulatory science, patient access, data, and investment into one conversation. The full program and registration are available on the DIA-MHRA Global Summit page.
