Patient advocacy is entering a new era. Advances in artificial intelligence, evolving healthcare policy, changing patient expectations, growing demands on advocacy organizations, and increasing pressure to demonstrate business impact are transforming the role of patient leaders across the healthcare ecosystem. The FDA’s Patient-Focused Drug Development initiative calls for a systematic approach to capturing and incorporating patients’ experiences, perspectives, needs, and priorities into medical product development and evaluation. Its guidance series provides methods for collecting meaningful patient input and applying it to development and regulatory decision-making, reinforcing the growing role of patient engagement across the product lifecycle. What trends are redefining patient engagement today, and what should organizations be preparing for tomorrow?

• Examine the trends transforming patient engagement across biopharma, biotech, and healthcare
• Explore how policy, technology, and evolving patient expectations are reshaping organizational strategy
• Evaluate the opportunities and challenges that will define patient leadership over the next several years

Despite significant advances in patient engagement, many individuals continue to face barriers that limit access to care, research, and support. Geography, fragmented care transitions, limited resources, and social determinants of health can leave patients underserved long before, and long after, they interact with the healthcare system. How can organizations identify the patients they're missing and design engagement strategies that create more equitable access and stronger community partnerships?

• Learn the unique challenges facing rural and underserved patient populations
• Improve support during critical care and life transitions to aid in patient outcomes
• Discuss hidden barriers that prevent patients from accessing care, research, and community resources

Patient organizations continue to play an increasingly important role in research, education, and patient support, yet many operate with limited staff and resources. As expectations continue to grow, organizations must balance meaningful collaboration with realistic demands on their nonprofit partners. How can industry create partnerships that recognize both the value and limitations of advocacy organizations?

• Recognize the operational realities facing nonprofit organizations
• Build collaborative partnerships that align expectations and resources
• Discuss engagement strategies that create mutual value without increasing organizational burden

Patient advocacy has evolved beyond relationship management and community engagement. Today's leaders are expected to influence executive decision-making, shape organizational priorities, and demonstrate measurable business impact. How can Chief Patient Officers position patient engagement as a strategic driver of innovation and organizational success?

• Connect patient insights to executive and enterprise decision-making
• Explore strategies for communicating the business value of patient engagement
• Strengthen the role of patient advocacy as a core organizational function

Many patient advocacy professionals begin their careers within nonprofit organizations before transitioning to roles in industry, bringing with them a unique understanding of patient needs, community trust, and mission-driven leadership. Their experience offers valuable perspective on how organizations can build stronger partnerships, communicate more authentically, and create strategies that better reflect the realities of the patients they serve. What lessons from the nonprofit world can help biopharma strengthen patient engagement and become a more trusted partner?

• Discover how advocacy leaders apply nonprofit experience to shape patient-centered strategies in industry
• Adapt nonprofit best practices to build more authentic partnerships with patient communities
• Leverage insights from advocacy organizations to create stronger collaboration and organizational impact

Many patient advocacy professionals in emerging biotech wear multiple hats, balancing patient engagement with clinical development, communications, medical affairs, and corporate strategy. Limited resources require thoughtful prioritization while maintaining meaningful relationships with patients and advocacy organizations. How can organizations build impactful patient engagement programs when dedicated teams are still growing?

• Leverage practical approaches for prioritizing patient engagement initiatives
• Identify strategies for building meaningful partnerships with limited resources
• Develop scalable programs that can evolve alongside organizational growth

As patient advocacy continues to evolve from a relationship-focused function into a strategic organizational capability, teams are being asked to grow their influence while building the structure, talent, and processes needed to support expanding responsibilities. Whether establishing a function from the ground up or scaling an existing team, patient advocacy leaders must determine how to define priorities, build internal credibility, allocate resources, and evolve their operating model alongside organizational growth. How can patient advocacy leaders build functions that are positioned for long-term impact?

• Define the foundational capabilities, roles, and priorities needed to build an effective patient advocacy function
• Develop strategies for scaling teams, resources, and operating models as organizational needs evolve
• Share practical lessons for building internal credibility and positioning patient advocacy as a strategic function

Traditional industry-sponsored research can leave patient advocacy organizations in an advisory role rather than giving them meaningful ownership over the research itself. The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) has developed a different model, bringing together patient advocacy, industry funders, academic investigators, healthcare providers, and people living with MS to create a shared research network.

The network uses a shared governance structure, with decision-making divided among industry funders, MSAA and academic partners, and people living with MS. More than 2,100 people with MS have enrolled, along with 20 neurologists across the country. Importantly, the data is owned by the nonprofit rather than an individual industry sponsor, allowing the network to serve as reusable research infrastructure and support future research questions.

• Explore how shared governance can give patients and advocacy organizations meaningful influence over research priorities and decisions
• Assess the benefits and challenges of nonprofit-owned patient data within an industry-supported research network
• Discover how successful partnerships can create lasting research infrastructure that extends beyond a single sponsor or study