CH Health Tech Advisory

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Innovation Management

Posts carrying the Innovation Management tag.

26 Mar 2026 · 3 min read

Earendil Labs just raised $787M for AI-driven biologics. The largest AI biotech round of 2026 so far.

A company you’ve most likely never heard of just raised $787M for AI-driven biologics. The headline number is striking. Sanofi’s trajectory — partner to repeat customer to investor in under twelve months — tells you more about the platform than any press release. The Delaware-incorporated, Beijing-operating structure is the emerging architecture for Chinese AI biotech going global.

17 Mar 2026 · 2 min read

Roche’s hybrid-cloud AI factory: why adoption matters more than GPUs

Roche just announced pharma's largest hybrid-cloud AI factory, combining 2,176 new NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs with an existing footprint that now exceeds 3,500 across the U.S. and Europe. But after years of watching these waves from inside pharma, the pattern is clear: the announcement is the easy part — the hard part is getting a large organization to actually change how it works.

10 Mar 2026 · 4 min read

AI drug discovery benchmarks: why pharma needs model evaluation discipline

Three big AI drug discovery launches in 90 days: Boltz, IsoDDE, OpenFold3. Every benchmark was built by the team that built the model. The real question isn’t which model has the best benchmark. It’s whether discovery teams have a rigorous internal framework to evaluate any model that shows up. The real moat is evaluation discipline.

3 Mar 2026 · 2 min read

Lab-in-the-loop drug discovery is an operating model problem, not a model problem

Lab-in-the-loop gets talked about like it’s a model problem. The Roche/Novartis/Microsoft panel at health.tech | global summit Basel made the real point clearer: it’s an operating model problem. Most orgs are at Level 1–2 maturity, and that’s already useful — the first big value isn’t more hits, it’s faster, more confident kill decisions.

26 Feb 2026 · 3 min read

Clarivate LS&H sale: what GenAI means for pharma intelligence businesses

Clarivate is selling its LS&H division — $390M in revenue, down 7% YoY, stock at $1.69. Decision Resources and Cortellis defined pharma intelligence for decades. GenAI-native platforms are now structuring, querying, and synthesizing across the same data at a fraction of the cost. When organized access to information is your moat, and AI organizes information better than you, that’s not a strategy problem. That’s an existential one.

13 Nov 2025 · 1 min read

AbbVie is quietly unwinding its 11 year longevity bet with Google's (Alphabet's) Calico Life Scie...

AbbVie is quietly unwinding its 11-year longevity bet with Google's (Alphabet's) Calico Life Sciences — a $1.5B collaboration started in 2014 around aging and age-related disease. I don't think this particular setback signals something more fundamental, but it raises real questions about where dedicated drug development in longevity is headed.

22 Oct 2025 · 1 min read

Round Table Announcement: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Pharma R&D - AI in Practice

I'm hosting a round table on November 27 in Schlieren, Zurich, bringing together pharma and Big Tech leaders to discuss what actually works — and what still fails — when applying AI in R&D. Expect candid, unscripted lessons on moving from pilot to platform, data governance, and where GenAI is genuinely helping in discovery, trial design, and safety.

8 Oct 2025 · 3 min read

The AI-biology frontier: an inspiring panel this morning at BioTechX with Lena Afeyan of Flagsh...

I joined an inspiring panel this morning at BioTechX with investors from Flagship Pioneering, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, MTIP, Lauxera Capital Partners, and Archimed to discuss where we stand on the journey of cracking biology and health with AI. From agentic AI and defensible moats to the tech-bio platform vs. pipeline dilemma and whether we're in an AI bubble, the conversation covered the full frontier.

6 Oct 2025 · 1 min read

An exciting panel including Jan Schlender and Gunther Jansen, PhD of Novartis , Petrina Kamya, P...

I attended an exciting panel on GenAI's impact in preclinical development, featuring voices from Novartis, Insilico Medicine, and INVIDIA. Key themes included the balance of AI opportunity and risk, the power of robotics combined with AI, and the ongoing challenge of data organization and institutional memory in the lab.

15 Jul 2025 · 1 min read

Participating in this week's SNOMED International board meeting here at the historic Midland Manc...

Participating in the SNOMED International board meeting in Manchester reinforces my conviction that SNOMED CT is absolutely critical for healthcare AI. As a board member chairing the Technology and Innovation Committee, I see firsthand how this global standard transforms fragmented health data into a reliable, structured foundation for AI innovation.

18 Jun 2025 · 1 min read

An interesting discussion on AI in drug discovery and development with Thirupathi Pattipaka from...

I joined an interesting discussion on AI in drug discovery and development at HLTHEurope2025 with panelists from Novartis, Roche, and OWKIN. From real-world evidence generation to biomarker development and regulatory considerations, the conversation covered both the opportunities and challenges of bringing AI into pharma.

17 Jun 2025 · 1 min read

Some good learnings from the AIspotlight at HLTHEurope2025 on federated data and learning coll...

I share key learnings from the AIspotlight at HLTHEurope2025 on federated data and learning collaboration, where speakers from Roche, Charité, and beyond made the case for combining insights across institutions. A recurring theme: this shift in how we interact with health data requires clearer explanation and specific use cases for stakeholders.

12 Jun 2025 · 1 min read

One of the biggest paradoxes in health data: the most valuable insights are locked within the mo...

One of the biggest paradoxes in health data is that the most valuable insights are locked within the most sensitive and difficult-to-access information — a natural brake on innovation. I explore how the new Atropos Health and Databricks partnership takes a meaningful step toward solving this.

13 May 2025 · 1 min read

Last week at the AI in Clinical Development Summit 2025 in NYC, I had the pleasure of joining an...

Last week at the AI in Clinical Development Summit 2025 in NYC, I joined a panel tackling the timeless build-or-buy question for pharma AI in clinical development. Our consensus: a "build with" strategy — co-developing with selected strategic AI startup partners — strikes the right balance between speed, fit, and long-term value.

8 Apr 2025 · 1 min read

Traveling back from several intense days at the quarterly SNOMED International Management Board m...

I'm traveling back from several intense days at the quarterly SNOMED International Management Board meeting in Oslo, where I chair the Technology and Innovation Committee. Here's why internationally aligned clinical standards remain vital — and are even essential — for effective AI in healthcare.

20 Mar 2025 · 1 min read

We all start to increasingly rely on AI and LLMs in the medical setting, whether it is replacin...

We're increasingly relying on AI and LLMs in medical settings — from self-diagnosis to clinical co-pilots — but there are still no good benchmarks for how well these models actually perform in real clinical practice. I think we have a long way to go before LLMs become truly reliable thought partners in our medical journeys.

29 Jan 2025 · 1 min read

A really insightful panel discussion on longevity at WHX Dubai (formerly Arab Health), hosted b...

I attended a really insightful panel discussion on longevity at WHX Dubai, and it challenged my assumption that longevity was mostly a US west coast buzzword. The UAE's patient safety-first, scientifically validated approach — combining genomics, AI, and precision medicine — could be a genuine game changer.

28 Jan 2025 · 1 min read

It currently feels like a new techbio AI drug discovery play is launched on a weekly basis, whi...

It currently feels like a new techbio AI drug discovery play is launched on a weekly basis, showing the AI hype in this field isn't over yet. I'm curious to see how this new generation of companies will fare compared to previous biotech platform plays, given that many steps like MedChem and Toxicology still take time even with AI acceleration.

21 Jan 2025 · 1 min read

Wrapping up 3 productive days in Orlando, Florida and preparing to head back to Europe, following...

Wrapping up three productive days in Orlando following my first meeting as Chair of SNOMED International's Technology and Innovation Committee, I came away with one clear conviction: as we move into an era of AI-enabled healthcare systems, SNOMED CT as a common global language will be more crucial than ever for accurate, interoperable communication between humans and machines.

14 Jan 2025 · 1 min read

One of the first tech-bio deals coming out to JPM this year: Insilico Medicine and MENARINI Group...

One of the first tech-bio deals out of JPM this year sees Insilico Medicine and MENARINI Group deepen their partnership around an AI-discovered asset — not an AI platform — potentially worth up to $550M. I'm curious which business model will emerge as the leader for AI-techbio companies: selling AI platforms and services, or developing your own pipeline.

12 Dec 2024 · 1 min read

What if your AI assistant could truly understand not just your words, but your world? Meta's Chie...

I've written before about AI agents and their transformative potential to take action rather than just engage in conversation — and the industry is rapidly validating this vision. From Meta's Yann LeCun to Salesforce's Marc Benioff to Anthropic's Claude, the signals are clear: if you're not experimenting with AI agents today, you're falling behind.

5 Dec 2024 · 1 min read

Interesting insights on the use of GenAI in Healthcare, from Bayer's Guido Mathews, Medtronic's I...

Interesting insights on the use of GenAI in Healthcare, from Bayer's Guido Mathews, Medtronic's Irina Evstifeeva and Karista's Amine Benmoussa at Health Tech Forward in Barcelona. From drug discovery and digital twins to medical imaging and workflow efficiency, the panel surfaced where GenAI is maturing — and where it still has a long way to go.

4 Dec 2024 · 1 min read

A truly interesting panel at Health Tech Forward on Automation in Clinical Trials with insilco t...

I attended a fascinating panel at Health Tech Forward on Automation in Clinical Trials featuring in-silico trials and digital twins. Speakers from QuantHealth, a leading VC, and United Therapeutics shared how AI is cutting trial lengths, replacing animal models, and opening new doors for orphan disease research.

28 Oct 2024 · 1 min read

Just back from an insightful experience at the Global Health Exhibition - ملتقى الصحة العالمي in ...

Just back from the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh, I was inspired by the 'can-do' mindset driving healthcare advancements across the GCC. AI and digital health solutions are making a tangible difference in patient outcomes, and Saudi Arabia is fast becoming a global example of digital transformation in healthcare.

22 Oct 2024 · 1 min read

Absolutely thrilled to wrap up three inspiring days in Seoul at the SNOMED International Manageme...

I'm honored to announce my appointment as a Management Board member of SNOMED International, following three inspiring days in Seoul at the Management Board and business meetings. I'm passionate about advancing data standards like SNOMED CT to drive AI-powered healthcare transformation and improve patient outcomes worldwide.

9 Oct 2024 · 1 min read

A truly interesting talk from Gilead's Patrick Loerch on creating real AI value in Biopharma at ...

At BiotechX in Basel, Gilead's Patrick Loerch outlined what it really takes for AI to create value in biopharma — from systemic business impact to decision-making influence. I found his take on centralized vs. distributed AI models, regulatory coordination, and clinical value chain opportunities particularly compelling.

5 Sept 2024 · 1 min read

My AI agent will be in touch" — Could this be our near future?

I've been watching AI agents emerge as the next major frontier in GenAI, and the tipping point — when agents interact more with other agents than with humans — could be sooner than we think. From Amazon's aqui-hire of Adept to coding a working Pong game in under a minute with Claude 3.5, the shift from "brains in a jar" to machines that take real action is already underway.

25 Jul 2024 · 1 min read

It is fascinating to see, and pretty much a full time job in itself, to explore the continuous em...

I'm tracking the continuous emergence of new AI foundation models — from Mistral Large 2 to Meta's Llama 3.1 — as a billion-dollar arms race. My prediction: three types of models will emerge, and for healthcare, specialised imaging models like Microsoft's collaboration with Mass General Brigham are the ones to watch.

16 Jul 2024 · 1 min read

Rock Health just released an interesting report on the usage of digital solutions for weight mana...

Rock Health's 2024 Weight Care Experience Survey highlights that consumers favor multi-approach weight loss strategies, with exercise and diet most popular and virtual coaching services like Noom and WW widely used. I see this as the archetype of a major behavioural health challenge where well-executed digital solutions with smart AI components should be a perfect complement to the current GLP-1 craze.

2 Jul 2024 · 1 min read

PharmaTech is increasingly becoming a category on its own, with PitchBook's Kazi Y. Helal, PhD e...

PharmaTech is increasingly becoming a category on its own, with PitchBook launching a dedicated research report and Q1 2024 seeing $749 million in funding across 39 deals. I think it's worth examining how they define the category, given the interesting mix of CDMO/CMO activities and AI enablement they cluster together.