The inaugural DIA-MHRA Global Summit will bring together the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and DIA as equal co-hosts on 16-17 November at Senate House, University of London. The summit aims to convene regulators, industry, and academia to create space for conversations that shape regulatory decisions.
Four confirmed speakers already reflect the scope of the summit. Lawrence Tallon, Chief Executive of the MHRA, will open the collaboration from the regulator’s side, bringing the perspective of an agency balancing patient safety with the UK’s ambitions to remain competitive in life sciences.
Marwan Fathallah, DIA Chief Executive, will represent the global, multi-stakeholder membership DIA has built across more than 80 countries, framing why a joint summit with a national regulator is a natural next step for an organisation built on neutral dialogue.
Key Speakers and Topics
Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, will add an academic and research-policy lens to the programme, focusing on how the UK translates scientific strength into faster, more predictable pathways for new medicines.
Dame Kate Bingham completes the confirmed line-up, bringing a venture capital and drug development perspective on what it takes to move quickly from science to approved product without compromising rigour.
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Together, these four speakers preview a Summit built around a single question the life sciences industry keeps asking: how can regulators and industry move faster together without moving apart?
Summit Agenda and Registration
Sessions across the two days will build on that question, with further speakers and the full agenda to be announced in the coming weeks. For clinical operations, medical affairs, regulatory affairs, investment, and R&D professionals working across UK and global markets, the Summit offers a rare setting where a national regulator and an industry-neutral association share the same stage.
Registration and the full programme are available on the DIA-MHRA Global Summit page, and the conversation can be followed at #DIAMHRASummit2026.
As the life sciences industry continues to evolve, the DIA-MHRA Global Summit will provide a unique opportunity for stakeholders to come together and discuss the key challenges and opportunities facing the industry, and it will be interesting to see how the discussions at the summit will shape the future of the industry. The summit’s focus on creating a space for conversations that shape regulatory decisions will likely lead to valuable insights and potential collaborations among attendees, ultimately contributing to the development of more effective and efficient regulatory pathways.
