More than 250 leaders and CEOs from healthcare, pharma and biotechnology, medicine, venture capital, government, and technology gathered in Boston on Sept. 22–23 for the 2026 World Medical Innovation Forum (WMIF), hosted by Mass General Brigham in collaboration with Bank of America. The annual forum, which drew more than 2,300 attendees this year, serves as a global platform that brings together executives, researchers, clinicians, investors, policymakers and entrepreneurs to drive translation of scientific discoveries from the laboratory bench to patients’ bedsides.
The theme of this year’s forum was “Innovation at Scale”—a reflection of the significant breadth of new technologies, digital innovations, and scientific breakthroughs across all areas of healthcare discussed at the two-day conference.
"The World Medical Innovation Forum uniquely gathers top leaders from across industry, academia and the investment community to jointly tackle the most pressing challenges in healthcare," said Christopher Coburn, Chief Innovation Officer at Mass General Brigham. "Its goal is to accelerate and scale innovation to help deliver meaningful advances for patients."
First held in 2015, the World Medical Innovation Forum was designed to accelerate the development of solutions that improve health outcomes around the world. Sessions at this year’s forum emphasized several key themes and technological advances discussed by world leaders in their respective fields, including emerging treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, vision loss, and for improving longevity. The role AI can play in filling gaps in clinical care, including in mental health, was also featured this year.
In another highlight at this year’s forum, Mass General Brigham innovators delivered “First Look” rapid-fire presentations on their scientific breakthroughs with commercial potential, before investors or companies have had a chance to act on them. The two winners of this year’s $10,000 prizes were:
Additionally at this year’s forum, Oben Health and Malama Health were recognized with the 2026 Kraft Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Community Health and the inaugural Kraft Impact Award , respectively. Oben Health uses AI to bring preventive cardiovascular screenings into trusted community settings such as barbershops and salons, while Malama Health combines remote monitoring, care navigation, and doula support to expand access to maternal health care.
All panels and presentations from the 2026 World Medical Innovation Forum can be accessed here .
About Mass General Brigham
Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic health care system, uniting great minds to solve the hardest problems in medicine for our communities and the world. Mass General Brigham connects a full continuum of care across a system of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a health insurance plan, physician networks, community health centers, home care, and long-term care services. Mass General Brigham is a nonprofit organization committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. In addition, Mass General Brigham is one of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations with several Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals. For more information, please visit massgeneralbrigham.org .