If you want to know where pharma's heading, it helps to be in the room when executives admit what they're worried about, share the strategies that worked and give a glimpse behind the scenes. Fierce Pharma Week, running Sept. 8-11 in Philadelphia, is that room.
This year marks the first time Fierce is bringing multiple pharma communities—marketing, PR and communications, medical affairs and commercialization—under one roof. Each has its own agenda and dedicated track, but bringing these communities together in one place opens the door to conversations that usually don’t happen in isolation. There’s something about the energy of a shared space—coffee breaks, keynotes, even just bumping into someone in the hallway—that makes the ideas stick a little differently.
Yet each community maintains its depth. Whether you’re there to dissect omnichannel strategy or debate real-world evidence methodologies, the content remains targeted. What’s different this year is the broader context—the energy that emerges when so many roles and perspectives collide in one place.
The timing feels deliberate. This has been a year of leadership shake-ups, pipeline uncertainties and budget scrambles. But it’s also been a year of quiet adaptation, and teams learning to work smarter amid the turbulence. What I’ve noticed, more than anything, is that beneath the chaos there’s real momentum—and a shift toward something that used to be rare in this industry: the willingness to admit, “We haven’t figured this out yet.”
This year's agenda covers familiar territory—omnichannel strategy, customer engagement, AI and all its promises and problems. But something feels different. Less performative. More like, “Help us figure this out,” and less like, “Look how smart we are.”
If you’re attending, here’s my advice: be curious. Ask real questions. Share what’s broken, what’s working and what you're still trying to figure out. Whether you’re there to validate a strategy, pressure-test an idea or learn what’s working for your peers, this is a space created for that type of exchange.
You can find more event details here. I’ll be in Philadelphia, tracking the big themes, learning and connecting. Hope to see you there.
- Ayla Ellison
Editor-in-Chief, Fierce Life Sciences and Healthcare