The Age of AI

Canada's #1 Event for Pharma AI Marketing & Communications
EVENT OVER

20 Speakers
200+ Attendees
55+ Companies

Where AI becomes a reality for brands

For healthcare marketers, and the agencies, partners and industries that support them, there will be no opportunity greater than that driven by the adoption and evolution of generative AI.

Join 200 people, on June 18, at the stunning Globe & Mail Centre, Toronto, as industry leaders from Sanofi, Roche, Takeda, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Klick Health and many more, share how AI is creating exponential business and brand value.

Event Themes

Enhance Your Omni-Channel Marketing
Accelerate content creation, streamline operations, and improve HCP & patient engagement through generative AI.
Build your AI Marketing Roadmap
Practical and proven steps to add generative AI as a core capability to your marketing team. From creative pilots, to full campaign deployment.  
Scale AI Content Safely
Stay aligned with PAAB, avoid Copyright & data risks by applying proven governance frameworks to your future campaigns.
Save Campaign Costs with AI
Learn about the cost savings and efficiency gains being achieved by leading pharma and their associated agencies.

20 Inspiring Speakers

See the full line-up here

AGENDA

8:55

-

9:05

Welcome to the Age of AI!

Neil Follett
,
Chair
,
PharmaBrands

9:05

-

9:35

Opening Keynote by Google

We are thrilled to announce a keynote address by Google!  Discover how AI is revolutionizing the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

Kapil Parakh
,
Senior Medical Lead
,
Google

9:35

-

10:00

Superintelligence tsunami: strategic imperatives for pharma in the face of cheap, powerful, and abundant AI on demand

  • Learn from past tech revolutions: draw insights from the past to inform strategic planning for AI challenges and opportunities across Pharma.
  • Navigate AI uncertainty: learn to proactively plan for rapid advancements to ensure your org continues to apply the best innovations.
  • Capitalize on superintelligence: identify strategic priorities for success in an AI-dominated future.

Simon Smith
,
EVP Generative AI
,
Klick Health

10:00

-

10:25

AI value chain: optimise key sales and marketing initiatives with AI

  • Explore insights and varied practices that leverage AI tools for highest impact and amplification of Life Science sales and marketing initiatives.

Catherine Hunter
,
Partner, Consumer Health and Life Sciences
,
EY Canada

10:25

-

10:50

Coffee Break

10:25

-

10:50

Coffee Break

10:50

-

11:35

​​From pilot to scale: how life-science companies can achieve AI companywide adoption to support commercial activities

  • Hear how Life Science companies should approach compliant and sustainable AI adoption.
  • From AI pilots, to Centres of Excellence & strategic partnerships; discover what has delivered the most value to date.
  • Learn from commercial leaders on their strategic AI focus for 2024 and beyond, emphasizing AI-driven efficiency, personalization, digital innovations and the importance of ethical use in AI.

Michael Bales
,
Director, Strategy & Commercial Operations
,
Merck Canada
Alyssa Lefaivre Škopac
,
Head of Global Partnerships and Growth
,
Responsible AI Institute
Rahul Rani,
,
Commercial Capabilities Project Manager
,
GSK
Aletta Brandle
,
Team Lead, Omnichannel Excellence
,
Boehringer Ingelheim
Chris Weber
,
Head of Customer Experience
,
Takeda

11:35

-

11:55

Save 40 hours a month, now! Discover the leading AI tools and tactics your marketing team can adopt today

  • It’s time to sign-up and get started, hear what AI tools and tactics your marketing team can explore to start saving you time and produce even stronger results.

Tim Dolan
,
Principal Consultant & Trainer
,
Kickframe

11:55

-

12:25

Generative AI and brand integrity: Are you ready?

  • Learn how to prepare your brand for a wave of medical misinformation, from deepfake HCP endorsement to fabricated patient stories.
  • Learn about the processes, tools and people that will ensure your teams are ready to mitigate brand destroying fake news.

Jennifer Zeifman
,
SVP, National Lead, Health & Wellness
,
Proof Strategies

12:25

-

13:10

Lunch

12:25

-

13:10

Lunch

13:10

-

13:55

The AI-powered agency: the benefits and risks clients must consider with this new agency model

  • Hear from leading agencies on the possibilities towards increasing value through generative AI capabilities.
  • Learn how Gen AI may be deployed for pharma marketing and communication campaigns.
  • Understand the risks and benefits before procuring an “AI-powered” agency
Neil Follett
,
Chair
,
PharmaBrands
Dave Makerewich
,
President and Founder
,
Maven
David Churchill
,
Vice President, Healthcare Business Strategy
,
Lemieux Bédard Communications.
Brad Breininger
,
EVP, Strategy
,
Believeco:Partners

13:55

-

14:20

Moving beyond the buzz: Sanofi's AI journey in marketing and medical content generation

  • Hear the lessons learned from Sanofi's implementation of AI tools to support commercial and medical activities.
  • Get a glimpse into how large language models can be used to ensure communications to healthcare providers and patients are relevant and effective.
  • Learn about the metrics applied at each stage of implementation that helped demonstrate business value.
Dimitrije Jankovic
,
Global Head of Digital Strategy and Operations
,
Sanofi

14:20

-

14:45

Intellectual property, ethical, and legal implications of AI in commercial activity

  • Understand the ownership issues surrounding AI-generated content.
  • Get the latest update on Canadian IP laws and how they apply to your next project.
  • Canadian case study highlighting unique challenges in AI-related IP disputes.

Alan Macek
,
Partner
,
DLA Piper

14:45

-

15:05

Coffee Break

14:45

-

15:05

Coffee Break

15:05

-

15:30

Remain relevant: align with AI applications in hospitals

  • Understand the transformations underway in hospitals and broader health systems. From streamlined hospital workflows, to diminishing administrative overheads that help elevate patient care quality.
  • Discover the imperative for life science companies to evolve and integrate these tech-driven advancements to maintain relevance and foster meaningful connections with healthcare professionals.
  • Rare Disease use case: hear about an unmet need, that through collaboration and technology, could result in significant uplift in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple rare conditions.
Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, PharmD, MA, MPH
,
Vice President - Data Science and Advanced Analytics, Professor, University of Toronto
,
Unity Health Toronto

15:30

-

15:50

PAAB and generative AI: maximise opportunity whilst staying compliant

  • What PAAB is seeing as effective generative AI use relating to pharma marketing and communication campaigns.
  • Recommendations on opportunities to leverage generative AI within the code.
  • PAAB’s own plans on AI adoption for future APS.

Jennifer Carroll
,
Director of Communications
,
PAAB

15:50

-

16:20

Closing Keynote: Machine Earning

The advent of Generative AI has sparked fresh possibilities for computational creativity in marketing. Indeed, this year’s Contagious Radar survey found that 41% of senior marketers believe Gen AI represents the biggest disruptive force to our industry since the dawn of the internet. But in a world where deepfakes are being increasingly weaponised by bad actors, how can we harness these tools for positive growth? Whether you believe in art or algorithms, understanding the capabilities of artificial intelligence should be a top priority for any future fit marketer. This session will explore the AI trend through the lens of some of the smartest work using the tech.

You’ll learn /

  • How brands from the worlds of automotive, food, healthcare, telco, travel, toys and more are using AI
  • Revealing insights from both marketing leaders and AI luminaries
  • About the various ways that artificial intelligence is reshaping the advertising industry

Chris Barth
,
Principal Strategist
,
Contagious

16:20

-

16:30

Closing Remarks

Neil Follett
,
Chair
,
PharmaBrands

16:30

-

20:30

Networking Drinks

17:30

-

20:30

OPMA: Networking & Panel on Emerging Technologies in Healthcare

The OPMA summer event is a separate co-located event. A full access ticket is included with your Age of AI ticket.

More Speakers To Come
,
,

20:30

-

20:30

Event Closes

20:30

-

20:30

Event Closes

9:00

-

9:30

The Past Year in AI: What Mattered, Why, and How to Use It Today

  • Twelve months of AI progress, distilled!
  • Clear insights, practical guidance, and real-world examples for life science commercialization, from research and strategy to creative and production.
  • Explore how the latest AI trends are reshapIing healthcare marketing and communication.
Simon Smith
,
EVP Generative AI
,
Klick Health

9:30

-

10:00

Marketing in the Age of AI: Future-Proof Your Team & Career

  • What does a high-performing AI-driven marketing team look like?
  • The new skills and roles needed to stay ahead.
  • How to build capabilities for the next five years.

10:00

-

10:30

PAAB and AstraZeneca: Why Strategic Partnerships Are Crucial for AI Success

  • Get an exclusive update on PAAB’s proprietary AI solution.
  • Discover why AstraZeneca saw this partnership as an opportunity to improve the overall approval process.
  • Learn which stakeholders were engaged and how objections were overcome at both local and global levels.
Daniel Smedley
,
Vice President, Innovation, Business Excellence and IT (Canada)
,
AstraZeneca
Jennifer Carroll
,
Director of Communications
,
PAAB

10:30

-

10:50

Break & Networking

10:50

-

11:20

2025, The Year of the Agent

  • AI agents in life sciences: Are you ready for the next wave of automation?
  • How smart strategic partnerships will reshape your business in 2025 and beyond.
  • Case study: How agentic AI is increasing customer value at scale.
Expert Speaker Coming Soon
,
,

11:20

-

12:10

Case Study: AI-Powered Precision HCP Marketing and Patient Support

  • AI-Driven Targeting: Use real-world data and machine learning to target the right subpopulations, boosting engagement.
  • Use AI to identify and reach at-risk patients with tailored messaging to improve adherence.
  • Driving Next Best Actions in Marketing: Implement AI chat, automation, and real-time insights for hyper-personalized campaigns.
Manoj Hariharan
,
Client Partner - Digital Engagement & Tech Innovation
,
IQVIA Canada

12:10

-

12:30

Case Study: How AI Maximises Reach and Relevance in Social Media

  • Discover the latest AI tools that enhance reach, engagement, and content relevance.
  • Learn what makes content sticky: hear about the topics, format and frequency that drive platform retention.
  • Case studies on how brands and partners are achieving higher ROI with ad spend.
Kyle Palantzas
,
Head of Growth
,
LinkedIn

12:30

-

13:20

Lunch

12:30

-

13:20

Lunch

13:20

-

14:00

Mastering AI Adoption: A Roadmap for Change Management

  • How to build AI literacy at scale across your organization.
  • Case studies: AI-powered “Next Best Action” strategies improving HCP engagement.
  • Data training and trust-building: Ensuring AI insights are reliable and actionable.
Jessica Knox
,
CEO
,
Metrix
Caroline Chami
,
Senior Global Marketing Manager
,
Ferring

14:00

-

14:30

Case Study: Applying Gen AI Across Channels for Customer Engagement

  • Learn what’s considered best practice when leveraging AI to enhance customer engagement in pharma marketing.
  • Hear from all stakeholders on how Gen AI helps enable personalized content to deliver higher engagement and meaningful value.
  • Understand the technology and processes that make up this new way of working.
Brian Knight
,
President
,
KNIGHTLABS
Cheryl Burt
,
Chief Commercial Officer
,
The Rounds

14:30

-

15:00

The Legal AI landscape is shifting - are you ready?

  • Learn about new regulations (AIDA, PIPEDA) towards IP, data privacy, and Indigenous data sovereignty challenges.
  • Important global AI regulations that companies must be aware of in 2025.
Expert Speaker Coming Soon
,
,

15:00

-

15:20

Break

15:00

-

15:20

Break

15:20

-

15:50

Pharma Panel: AI Maturity vs. Global Trends

  • How top pharma companies are integrating AI across their operations.
  • AI ethics, team structures, and tools being used.
  • What global markets are developing, and what it means for Canada.
Expert Speaker Coming Soon
,
,

15:50

-

16:40

The Art of the Possible: Gen AI Showcase by the Industries Leading Experts

  • Live AI campaign demonstrations from top agencies, content creators and award winning AI creators.
  • Be inspired in how AI is transforming video, audio, art, print, and digital advertising.
  • See how LLM driven brand plans are a marketers new secret weapon!
David Brown
,
Executive Vice President of Health Strategy
,
NFA Health
Terry Sayegh
,
GTM Director
,
Eleven Labs

16:40

-

17:00

Closing keynote

17:00

-

18:00

Networking drinks

18:00

-

20:30

OPMA Summer Soirée

Stunning venue

  • Globe and Mail Centre: Breathtaking venue with incredible views. During networking breaks, enjoy the magnificent terrace with sweeping city and lake views.
  • Address: 351 King St E Suite 1600, Toronto, ON M5A 0N1, Canada
  • Parking & Access: There are several paid parking lots within walking distance to The Globe and Mail Centre, as well as limited street parking.
  • Full venue information can be seen by clicking here

We’re accelerating to a future of superhuman, on-demand, nearly free intelligence. Whoever best aligns with that trajectory gains an insurmountable advantage

Simon Smith, EVP Generative AI, Klick Health

Our Partners

Platinum

Industry Leading 
Solution Providers

Thank you to our partners for bringing valuable insights to the PharmaBrands community. 

Does your company have a unique perspective, a strong voice and meaningful insights? Are you interested in being a part of a cutting edge Pharma AI conference?

Contact Jon@pharmabrands.ca to talk about partnership opportunities before it’s too late!

Partners

Join us at Creativity Now, November 26, Toronto

Learn More