BOSTON, MA — Aug 20, 2026 — Insilico Medicine (“Insilico”), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven biotechnology company and organizer of the 13th Aging Research & Drug Discovery (ARDD) Meeting, today announced the program for ARDD 2026, taking place October 1–3, 2026, at the David Rubenstein Treehouse at Harvard University.
The 2026 meeting will bring together an exceptional concentration of leaders from pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology, academia, clinical medicine, investment, artificial intelligence, scientific publishing and policy to present research and exchange perspectives on the rapidly advancing field of longevity biotechnology.
Now in its 13th year, ARDD began as a small gathering in Basel designed to connect pharmaceutical and academic researchers around the emerging science of aging. This year, the meeting moves to Boston with its broadest program to date, reflecting the evolution of longevity biotechnology from fundamental aging research toward therapeutic discovery, clinical development, regulatory strategy, partnering and investment.
“For over a decade, ARDD has served as a global platform for academia-pharma-startup-investor dialogue, and this year we have reached a new level,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine and Co-Chair of ARDD. “The 2026 program brings together leaders from major pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology, academia, AI, investment, scientific publishing and policy in one place. Some of the leading pharma and biotech companies will present frontier research and results, and I believe the caliber of this program demonstrates how rapidly longevity biotechnology is becoming an important frontier for drug discovery and healthcare.”
The three-day program spans the full continuum from the biology of aging to therapeutic development and commercialization, with sessions addressing clinical trials and regulatory pathways, AI and clinical trials in healthspan, pharma R&D and productivity, clinical practice, drug discovery, therapeutic partnering and licensing, and investment.
Among the program highlights, Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis, will present “Reimagining Drug Discovery Through the Lens of Aging Biology.” A Pharma Chief Executive Panel will bring together Christophe Weber, former CEO of Takeda; Elcin Barker Ergun, CEO of Menarini; Marshall; and Ariel Feldstein, CSO, Internal Medicine at Pfizer.
Other sessions will feature leaders from Eli Lilly, Astellas, GSK, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi, Lundbeck and additional pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, alongside scientists from leading academic and medical institutions and editors and journalists from Nature Biotechnology, Nature Medicine, Nature Aging, TIME, Financial Times, Forbes Health and Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.
The investment and business-development program will bring together leaders from Deerfield, OrbiMed, Oaktree Capital Management, Qiming Venture Partners, UBS, Value Partners Group, Danaher Ventures, Morgan Stanley, LongeVC and others to examine capital formation, partnering and the development of longevity therapeutics.
“The biology of aging has become one of the most promising frontiers in biomedical science. Our challenge is to both better understand it and translate fundamental discoveries into interventions that improve healthspan. That will require an unprecedented level of collaboration across disciplines and sectors,” said Vadim Gladyshev, Executive Chair of ARDD and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Conferences like ARDD play an important role by bringing together the people who can ask difficult questions, test new ideas, and build the partnerships needed to advance the field.”
Beyond the main program, ARDD 2026 will feature dedicated forums exploring Longevity Medicine, AI in Drug Discovery, Pet and Animal Longevity, and Virtual Cell in Time: Virtual Aging Cell. The AI-focused programming includes computational drug design, large-scale datasets for future AI systems, AI approaches to neurodegeneration, and systems immunology and immune aging.
“ARDD has always been about bringing together the world's leading minds in aging research to accelerate the development of interventions that extend healthy lifespan,” said Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, Co-Chair of ARDD and Professor at the University of Copenhagen. “Moving ARDD to Boston marks an exciting new chapter, placing the conference at the heart of one of the world's strongest biomedical innovation ecosystems. At the same time, ARDD 2026 reflects the field's increasing maturity, with an incredibly strong focus on translating scientific discoveries into medicines. The future is bright.”
Officially organized by Insilico Medicine, ARDD 2026 is anchored by Tier 1 sponsors Insilico Medicine and Eli Lilly, with the McKinsey Health Institute serving as the Sole Knowledge Partner.
The meeting is further supported by Tier 3 sponsors AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Human Longevity, Nestlé, Dior, Maxwell Biosciences, BioAge Labs, Gordian Biotechnology, GlycanAge, LongeVC, AniVC, Tolerance Bio, Tally Health, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi, Cambrian Bio, Biocytogen, TruDiagnostic, and Cyclarity Therapeutics.
Synaro Capital, The Cat Health Company, and PranaGen Bioscience support the event as Tier 4 sponsors, alongside Tier 5 sponsors Morgan Stanley, Estée Lauder Companies, the Intrinsic Capacity, Frailty & Sarcopenia Research Conference for Healthy Longevity, and quadraScope.
With speakers and participants spanning fundamental research, clinical development, pharmaceutical R&D, biotechnology, investment and policy, ARDD 2026 is designed to foster the cross-sector collaborations required to translate discoveries in aging biology into new therapeutic approaches.
Registration for ARDD 2026 is now open. Explore the program and secure your place at www.agingpharma.org.
The Aging Research & Drug Discovery (ARDD) Meeting is the world's largest meeting dedicated to aging and longevity biotechnology. Now in its 13th year, ARDD brings together researchers, clinicians, biotechnology and pharmaceutical leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers from around the world to accelerate the translation of breakthroughs in the biology of aging into practical R&D and therapeutic programs. The 2026 meeting will take place October 1–3 at the David Rubenstein Treehouse at Harvard University in Boston.
The Nordic Aging Society is a supporter of ARDD and a non-profit scientific organization dedicated to advancing research on the biology of aging and promoting collaboration among researchers, clinicians and industry across the Nordic region and beyond.
For further information, press passes, or interview requests, please contact:
ardd@pharma.ai