From pilot to daily use
Why many AI pilots look good in a demo and then quietly stop being used, and what the teams who got past that did differently.
AI & Pharma Executive Dinner
How is AI really changing pharma? Let's compare experiences.
A small dinner in Zug where pharma leaders share what has worked with AI, what hasn't, and why.
Guest speaker Dr. Kurt Kamalioglu on AI in competitive intelligence
Monday 23 November 2026 Zug, Switzerland
Request your invitation
Limited places · Organised by phamax
What happens when pharma teams actually try AI
Most AI conversations in pharma happen on conference stages or in vendor meetings. They rarely cover the pilot that stalled in medical review, the tool the team stopped opening after three weeks, or the use case that worked even though nobody had planned it.
phamax started these dinners to make room for that conversation. Around ten people from pharma and biotech sit at one table for one evening. A guest who has been through a real implementation opens with a short story, and then everyone talks. 23 November is our fourth dinner.
Guest speaker · 23 November
AI in competitive intelligence
Dr. Kurt Kamalioglu (LinkedIn, opens in a new tab)
KalVista Pharmaceuticals (a Chiesi company)
Kurt opens the evening with a short talk on one real AI implementation in competitive intelligence: what the team set out to do, what happened and what they would change. Then everyone at the table joins the conversation.
Request your invitationWhat we talk about
Each dinner follows the questions in the room. These are the ones that keep coming back.
Compliance and review
How companies get AI-generated work through medical, legal and regulatory review without slowing everything down.
Knowledge that gets reused
What happens to the market research, call notes and brand plans a company already paid for, and whether AI helps teams use them.
Getting teams on board
How to introduce AI to field, brand and insights teams so it saves them time and doesn't feel like extra scrutiny.
Build, buy or wait
How leaders choose between building in-house, buying a tool and using what their enterprise licence already includes.
Proving the value
What people measure to show leadership that an AI initiative is worth continuing.
What we've heard so far
Three dinners in, some themes keep coming up. Nothing here is attributed to a person or a company.
The use cases that stick are rarely the ones in the original business case. Teams get the most out of small, everyday tasks, like finding an old research finding before a meeting.
Medical and legal review is where most pilots slow down. The teams that moved fastest involved their reviewers from the first week.
Most companies hold years of market research they paid for and rarely open again. Several guests see it as the easiest place to start.
People stop using a tool when it feels like it is checking their work. They keep using it when it takes over something they already disliked doing.
No sales pitches. No long presentations.
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Arrival
Drinks and introductions, so everyone knows who is at the table before we sit down.
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The opening
Our guest speaker shares one real AI implementation in about ten minutes: what they set out to do, what happened and what they would change.
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Dinner and conversation
One table and one conversation, lightly guided by the host so every guest gets to share their experience.
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Close
We finish on time.
The dinner is held under the Chatham House Rule. You can use what is said at the table, but never attribute it to a person or a company.
What you take away
Answers from peers
You hear how other pharma teams handled the problems you are facing. They tell you what happened, including the parts that didn't go to plan.
Ideas for your own team
Guests usually leave with one or two things to try the following week. Some are about tools, most are about how teams work with them.
People to call
You meet a handful of people in Swiss pharma working on the same questions. Many stay in touch after the dinner.
Who is at the table
Each dinner brings together around ten people from pharma and biotech companies, in commercial, brand, insights, market access, medical and digital roles. We keep the group small so people speak openly.
Attended by executives from
Event details
- Date
- Monday 23 November 2026
- Time
- 18:30 to 20:30
- Place
- Zug, Switzerland. We share the address with confirmed guests.
- Cost
- Free for invited guests
- Organiser
- phamax AG, Zug
Request your invitation
Places are limited to keep the table small. Tell us a little about yourself and we will confirm your seat by email.
Thank you, .
We have your request and will confirm your seat by email. If you have a question in the meantime, write to david@phamax-digital.ch.
You're on the list. We'll send you an invitation as soon as the next dinner is confirmed.
Questions
phamax AG, a life sciences consulting company based in Zug and the team behind Ariya.
People working in pharma and biotech companies. We review every request to keep the group balanced across companies and functions.
No. There are no product presentations. We host the dinners because we want to hear how pharma teams use AI, and so do our guests.
The dinner follows the Chatham House Rule. You can share what you hear, but not who said it.
No. The dinner is free for invited guests.
English.
Choose "Keep me posted" in the form and we'll invite you to the next dinner.