image: ARDD 2026 Program
Credit: ARDD 2026 Program
BOSTON, MA — Aug 20, 2026 — The 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 13th annual 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.
Founded 13 years ago as a small gathering in Basel connecting pharmaceutical and academic researchers, ARDD has evolved into a global meeting focused on translating advances in the biology of aging into therapeutic development. This year's move to Boston marks a new chapter for the meeting, with a program spanning fundamental aging biology, drug discovery, clinical development, regulatory strategy, pharmaceutical R&D, partnering, licensing 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., Co-Chair of ARDD and founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. “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 will examine the full path from scientific discovery to clinical translation 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.
The program also features leaders from Eli Lilly, Astellas, GSK, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi, Lundbeck and other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, alongside scientists from leading academic and medical institutions. Editors and journalists from Nature Biotechnology, Nature Medicine, Nature Aging, TIME, Financial Times, Forbes Health and Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News will moderate discussions across the meeting.
“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.”
ARDD 2026 will place particular emphasis on the translation of longevity science into medicines. Sessions will explore how aging biology can inform drug discovery, how therapeutics can progress through clinical trials and regulatory pathways, how pharmaceutical companies are approaching aging research, and how emerging assets and technologies can move through partnering and licensing.
The meeting will also bring together investors spanning the biotechnology financing ecosystem. Dedicated early-stage and growth-stage panels include leaders from Deerfield, OrbiMed, Oaktree Capital Management, Qiming Venture Partners, UBS, Value Partners Group, Danaher Ventures, LongeVC and others, while Morgan Stanley will moderate a session focused on late-stage therapeutic assets and licensing.
“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.”
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. Programming will examine areas including computational drug design, large-scale datasets for future AI systems, AI approaches to neurodegeneration, systems immunology and immune aging, as well as emerging approaches to understanding and extending healthy lifespan across species.
ARDD 2026 is officially organized by Insilico Medicine and 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 participants spanning fundamental research, clinical development, pharmaceutical R&D, biotechnology, investment and policy, ARDD 2026 aims to foster the collaborations needed to transform discoveries in aging biology into therapies that extend healthy lifespan and improve patient outcomes.
Registration for ARDD 2026 is now open. Explore the program and secure your place at www.agingpharma.org.
About the Aging Research & Drug Discovery (ARDD) Meeting
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 with speakers, please contact:
ardd@pharma.ai