The big Pharma event in Milan: the future of life sciences in the voices of the protagonists
It will be held on 25 June 2026 at the Allianz MiCo in Milan and is addressed to leaders, managers and professionals of this innovative ecosystem. The initiative is promoted with 24OreSalute
Key points
Reflecting on the future and bringing new visions, perspectives and global trends that are reshaping the future of life and health sciences. This will be done by some of the most authoritative global voices in scientific research, academia and business on the stage of WOMA Forum, Inspiring the World of pharMA: this is the new international forum dedicated to the pharmaceutical, medtech, healthcare and life sciences sectors conceived and organised by WOMA and promoted by BioPharma Network - Associazione Manager del Farmaceutico and 24OreSalute. WOMA Forum will be held on 25 June 2026 at the Allianz MiCo in Milan, the largest congress centre in Europe, and is aimed at leaders, managers and professionals of this innovative professional ecosystem. Inspiration, Education, Connection and Action are the four key words that sum up its philosophy: inspire new ideas, transfer knowledge, build relationships between research, industry and institutions, and help turn visions into initiatives. WOMA comes at a time of profound transformation for the Life Sciences ecosystem, driven by the increasing development of innovative therapeutic solutions, the evolution of economic and regulatory systems, and the need for more agile decision-making models.
Experts and leaders on stage at WOMA
Internationally renowned experts and leaders will take turns on stage. Among the first speakers announced are Jennifer Doudna, 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry for co-discovering the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology; Bertalan Meskó, founder of the Medical Futurist Institute and one of the leading global experts on digital innovation in healthcare; Amy Cuddy, social psychologist and author of the bestseller Presence, among the most influential voices in the field of leadership; and Zack Kass, international expert on strategies for adopting artificial intelligence in the corporate world and former Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI. They will be joined by José Manuel Barroso, former President of the European Commission - who in that capacity picked up the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 together with the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, on behalf of the European Union - former Prime Minister of Portugal and now President of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half of the world's children against some of the most deadly diseases. As part of its mission to save lives and protect people's health through equitable and sustainable use of vaccines, Gavi has helped vaccinate more than 1.2 billion children in 78 low-income countries, preventing more than 20.6 million future deaths*. Other notable names will be added in the coming months to complete the WOMA 2026 panel.
How the ecosystem changes and future applications
The topics on the agenda will range from the evolution of the Pharma & Health ecosystem to future pioneering applications of digital, robotic and artificial intelligence technologies in the fields of prevention, treatment and research. A focus will be devoted to the inspiration of scientific research as a driver of progress, future leadership in the context of technological and generational change, strategies for the adoption of artificial intelligence in industry, industrial strategies to address increasingly complex and interconnected markets, and finally health economy models and scenarios to be pursued for global health. "WOMA was born from the dialogue with the protagonists of the sector, a project built through listening and collaboration, giving voice to those who today are contributing to redesigning the future, bringing in highly relevant topics and bringing to Italy inspirational visions and profoundly innovative perspectives. The world-class speakers who accepted our invitation testify to the relevance and vision of the initiative," says Florencia Bechara, CEO WOMA - Inspiring the World of pharMA.
The objective is to contribute to the development of high value-added projects
"BioPharma Network, as a non-profit cultural association in the sector, has been promoting managerial culture, innovation and professional orientation for years, with initiatives aimed at fostering dialogue between professionals, companies, universities and institutions," said Michele Barletta, President of BioPharma Network - the Pharmaceutical Managers Association. "In this context, an inspirational and international event dedicated to our sector represents a unicum of great value for the relevance and speed of transformation that characterise this strategic sector. Our aim, as promoters of the WOMA Forum, is to continue to contribute concretely with our know-how to the development of projects with high added value, which offer professionals new tools and visions to better interpret the great transformations taking place and further enhance our professionalism". "WOMA perfectly represents Milan's vision as a platform for global dialogue on science, leadership and innovation: an event that does not just generate connections, but makes a concrete contribution to building a lasting legacy for the Milan ecosystem, strengthening the link between education, business and institutions. A new testimony of the affirmed role that the country plays as a pole of excellence and reference point in the international Life Sciences panorama,' confirmed Fiorenza Lipparini - General Director YES Milano, institutional partner of the Forum.
