Milan is preparing to host a new major international event dedicated to innovation in the world of Health and Life Sciences. On 25 June 2026, Allianz MiCo, the largest conference center in Europe, will welcome the WOMA Forum, Inspiring the World of pharMA, the new event that combines science, leadership and vision of the future.
The event, conceived and organized by WOMA and promoted by BioPharma Network – Pharmaceutical Managers Association and 24OreSalute, was created as a space for discussion between the protagonists of the pharmaceutical, medtech, healthcare and life sciences sectors, in a moment of profound transformation for the entire ecosystem.
Nobel Prize winners and global leaders in Milan
Internationally renowned voices from scientific research, academia and business will alternate on stage. Among the first speakers announced:
- Jennifer Doudna, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 for the co-discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology;
- Bertalan Meskó, founder of the Medical Futurist Institute and one of the leading global experts in digital innovation in healthcare;
- Amy Cuddy, social psychologist and author of the bestselling Presence, considered one of the world’s leading experts on leadership and behavior;
- Zack Kass, expert on strategies for adopting artificial intelligence in the corporate world and former Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI.
They will be joined by José Manuel Barroso, former President of the European Commission and now President of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a public-private partnership that has helped vaccinate over 1.2 billion children in 78 low-income countries, preventing more than 20 million deaths.
Inspiration, education, connection and action
WOMA was born at a time of profound transformation for the Life Sciences ecosystem, driven by a growing development of innovative therapeutic solutions, the evolution of economic and regulatory systems and the need for more agile decision-making models.
Inspiration, Training, Connection and Action are the four key words that define the philosophy of the event: inspiring new ideas, transferring knowledge, building relationships between research, industry and institutions and transforming visions into concrete initiatives. The topics on the program will range from the evolution of the Pharma & Health ecosystem to the applications of artificial intelligence, robotics and digital technologies in research and care, up to new models of leadership and health economy.
“WOMA was born from dialogue with the protagonists of the sector, a project built through listening and collaboration, giving voice to those who are contributing to redesigning the future today”
explains Florencia Bechara, CEO of WOMA.
An inspirational event projected into the future
WOMA Forum will welcome over 1,000 participants including managers, professionals and researchers from hundreds of companies and institutions in the sector, with 1,500 square meters of plenary room and 4,000 square meters of exhibition area dedicated to networking and professional meetings.
“An inspirational and international event dedicated to our sector represents a unique example of great value, in a continuously and profoundly evolving sector. Our objective is to concretely contribute, with our know-how, to the development of projects with high added value for professionals and companies in the sector”
comments Michele Barletta, President of BioPharma Network
“WOMA perfectly represents the vision of Milan as a platform for global dialogue on science, leadership and innovation: an event that contributes to strengthening the link between education, business and institutions, consolidating Italy’s role in the international panorama of Life Sciences”
underlines Fiorenza Lipparini, General Director of YES Milano, institutional partner of the initiative.
A strategic sector for Italy
The Forum is part of a rapidly growing economic context: in 2024 the Italian pharmaceutical sector reached a production value of approximately 56 billion euros, confirming itself as the leading national industrial sector, with investments in research and development amounting to 4 billion euros (+12.7% on 2023) and a positive foreign balance of over 11 billion. These are the data from the report “Pharmaceutical Indicators 2025” by Farmindustria, which continues to demonstrate Italy’s leading role in the pharma industry. An industry that employs more than 71,000 workers, 45% of whom are women, and which in the last five years has recorded a 21% increase among those under 35, testifying to a dynamic, inclusive and highly skilled sector.
