Clinical trial results are the key events that make or break a biotechnology company. Positive data can validate a drugmaker’s business plan and boost its stock price, while a disappointing readout can change its course. These crucial findings are often presented and closely analyzed at medical conferences throughout the year — meetings where companies get to showcase the medicines they’ve staked their futures on.
These conferences have different focuses. Some spotlight early research or the final trials that can yield regulatory approvals. Others are temperature takers for the industry’s health, where companies and investors gather to network and cut deals.
Below, BioPharma Dive has collected schedules for the key medical meetings and conferences planned for the rest of 2026.
Top medical and industry meetings in 2026
European Society of Cardiology Annual Congress
Aug. 28-31
Munich
ESC brings together tens of thousands of cardiology experts to discuss practice-changing research in heart disease. The meeting has been a recent venue for important study results from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca, among other companies. This year’s conference is focused on artificial intelligence and how the technology is helping with patient care, from diagnosis to delivery.
World Conference on Lung Cancer
Sept. 12-15
Seoul, South Korea
WCLC is the world’s top conference on advances in lung cancer, one of the most competitive areas in oncology and a coveted market among drugmakers. Over the last couple years, the WCLC has been the forum for advances among a closely watched group of cancer immunotherapies called PD-1/VEGF inhibitors, which could change the way many lung tumors are treated. A few opening plenary speakers this year include Mathew Meyerson, director of the Center for Cancer Genomics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Jose Luis Castro, WHO director-general special envoy for chronic respiratory diseases; and Eun-Kyeong Jeong, minister of health and welfare for South Korea.
European Society for Medical Oncology Congress
Oct. 23-27
Madrid
ESMO is Europe’s answer to the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting and just as often features standard-shifting cancer research. While immunotherapy remains an active area of exploration for drugmakers, increasingly other treatment types like antibody-drug conjugates and radiopharmaceuticals have been featured at oncology conferences.
The Liver Meeting
Nov. 5-9
Denver
Thousands of hepatology professionals gather each year at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases’ annual meeting.
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions
Nov. 7-9
Chicago
AHA is always a major forum for the latest research on medicines to treat diseases of the heart.
19th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease
Nov. 16-19
Boston
Focused on medicines for Alzheimer’s disease, CTAD hosts scientists and experts in the field to discuss new treatment approaches for the neurological condition.
American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting
Dec. 12-15
New Orleans
This meeting regularly features compelling new research on treatments for diseases of the blood, from cancers to non-malignant disorders like sickle cell and beta thalassemia.
