Most conferences introduce you to people. The right conferences introduce you to the right people: those with the authority to evaluate a partnership, make a data decision, or move a market access strategy forward.

RWE Connect 2026 is built around that distinction. Held on 14–15 October 2026 in Boston, it convenes senior professionals from across the RWE ecosystem: pharma and biotech companies, real-world data platforms, analytics and AI providers, CROs, payers, and regulators. Two hundred-plus attendees. Forty-plus speakers. A Partnering Lounge designed for 1:1 meetings between people whose work intersects.

Here is a closer look at who attends, who speaks, and what kinds of conversations are possible.

The pharma and biotech companies sending their senior people

The speaker and delegate profile at RWE Connect 2026 reflects the seniority and functional breadth that pharma companies bring to the event. These are not junior delegates filling a seat. The table below shows which companies are present and at what level.

A few things stand out from this list. Boehringer Ingelheim and Gilead Sciences are each sending multiple speakers, which signals active engagement rather than passive attendance. BioMarin’s Executive Director and Head of Global HEOR is a C-suite adjacent role with accountability for the company’s entire outcomes research strategy. Alcon’s Global Head of HEOR covers pharma markets worldwide. These are the people who approve evidence strategies, evaluate data partnerships, and sign off on outsourcing decisions.

The data and analytics companies on the floor

Real-world data platforms and analytics companies are core sponsors and active participants at RWE Connect 2026. What makes this relevant to pharma and biotech attendees is that these are not passive exhibitors.

Sponsor representatives speak on panels, participate in masterclass sessions, and are accessible through the Partnering Lounge. The structure of the event is designed to make these interactions substantive.

Truveta (Platinum Sponsor) aggregates de-identified electronic health record data from health systems across the US, making it one of the most significant RWD infrastructure companies in the market. Its headline sponsorship signals both investment and commercial intent at the senior pharma level.

Magnolia Market Access (Gold Sponsor) works at the intersection of market access strategy and evidence generation, serving pharma clients navigating payer and HTA requirements.

Forian (Silver Sponsor) provides health data analytics and intelligence platforms used across pharma, payer, and provider markets.

Arcadia (Thought Leadership Partner) brings data aggregation and analytics infrastructure that supports health systems and life sciences organisations working with large-scale real-world datasets.

The consulting and research voices in the room

Beyond pharma and data companies, RWE Connect draws professionals from the consulting and research community who play an active role in how evidence strategies get designed and executed.

APPERTURE LLC and APPERTURE Health contribute two professionals: Dhanish Revanth, HEOR Consultant and Epidemiologist, and Trupti Dhumal-Key, HEOR and Bioinformatics Consultant. Leo Russo from CounterX Therapeutics attends as a Scientific Advisor, bringing an early-stage company perspective on evidence strategy.

Samuel Dyer, CEO of the Medical Science Liaison Society, contributes a medical affairs perspective on how real-world evidence translates at the health system level.

What does this audience profile mean for your organisation?

The audience at RWE Connect 2026 is not a general pharma crowd. It is a selective gathering of professionals whose daily work involves generating, evaluating, or acting on real-world evidence. The commercial implications of that specificity depend on who you are.

• If you are a data or analytics provider, the attendees include the people who evaluate and procure RWD platforms: Directors of Epidemiology, Heads of Global HEOR, and VP-level market access leads with active infrastructure decisions on their plates.
• If you are a CRO or evidence generation consultancy, the attendees include the HEOR and RWE leads who commission and manage evidence studies across the drug development lifecycle.
• If you are pharma or biotech, the attendees include peers from comparable organisations working on the same evidence challenges, alongside the data and technology partners they use. Benchmarking your evidence strategy against that group is one of the most direct forms of professional development available.
• If you are a technology or AI company working in life sciences, the Innovation Showcase and Startup Pavilion put your offering in front of senior decision-makers who are actively evaluating next-generation tools, not just browsing.

How the event is structured to make conversations happen

Attending a conference and making meaningful progress on a business or evidence objective are different things. RWE Connect 2026 is designed to close that gap through formats that prioritise interaction over broadcast.

The Partnering Lounge runs pre-scheduled private 1:1 meetings between attendees. These are working sessions between professionals with a shared reason to meet, not corridor conversations that go nowhere.

The Masterclass Workshops are facilitator-led and hands-on. Attendees leave with frameworks they can apply directly. They also leave having worked alongside peers from pharma, data, and consulting, which means the network built here is grounded in shared learning rather than badge scanning.

The RWE Innovation Showcase and Startup Pavilion give companies presenting new methodologies and platforms a structured visibility opportunity. For attendees, they offer a curated view of what is emerging in the space before it becomes mainstream.

Panel sessions, roundtables, and fireside chats complete the agenda, prioritising dialogue and debate over passive presentation.

Who should be making plans to attend

RWE Connect 2026 draws professionals across a range of functions and organisation types. The list below covers the roles and teams that consistently get the most out of the event.

• From pharma and biotech: HEOR Directors and RWE Heads, Medical Affairs leads, Market Access professionals at VP level and above, Regulatory Affairs teams working with real-world data, Epidemiology Directors, and Clinical Development leads engaged in evidence planning.
• From data and analytics companies: business development and commercial leaders, product and platform teams, and Scientific and Medical Affairs contacts at RWD companies.
• From technology and AI companies: commercial and partnership leads whose products serve life sciences RWE workflows.
• From consulting firms: senior consultants and practice leads in HEOR, market access, and evidence strategy.
• From CROs: business development and scientific leadership teams working in real-world evidence generation.

Register or explore sponsorship — Boston, 14–15 October 2026 →