Reflections from the 3rd AI Forum in Pharma, co-hosted by SHQA and FFI Ventures at the Novartis campus in Rotkreuz in Switzerland, June 11, 2026.
Two years ago, the first SHQA-FFI AI Forum asked a simple question: What could AI mean for Pharma? This year, that question has been replaced by something more urgent: How do we move from pilot to production, at scale, without compromising compliance or patient trust?
Over 70 professionals from more than 25 companies gathered at Novartis Pharma Schweiz in Rotkreuz on June 11th for a day of plenary sessions, hands-on breakouts, and an open podium that turned into one of the most candid conversations the Swiss Pharma AI community has had yet.
The atmosphere throughout the day was one of productive tension: Optimism about what is already working, sober acknowledgement of governance and data gaps, and a clear appetite to move faster in a responsible fashion.
A snapshot of AI maturity across the Swiss Pharma landscape
The forum opened with the annual maturity assessment and the numbers tell a nuanced story: 35% of participating organisations still describe themselves as being at an initial stage, figuring out policies and piloting basic tools. Meanwhile, 17% have moved into the define stage, with governance structures taking shape. Only 3% consider themselves optimised for AI across their culture and processes.
The implication for leadership teams is clear: The majority of the Swiss Pharma ecosystem is still building the foundation for AI adoption, often driven by their region or global organizations. Early movers who establish robust strategy and governance now will compound that advantage significantly as agentic AI matures over the next two to three years.
A recurring theme in our sessions: The bottleneck in Pharma AI is rarely the technology. It is the organisation, the data quality, change management, cross-functional alignment, and the courage to shut down pilots that aren’t working but moving on with new approaches. FFI’s engagement model is built around exactly this reality: Strategic clarity and operational delivery across advanced use cases such as Next Best Action, Systematic Literature Review, Dossier Generation and AI-enabled LMR reviews.
What the community is taking home
The podium discussion that closed the day surfaced questions the industry is genuinely working on. The consensus on adoption: Start with bounded, low-risk use cases; govern from day one; build change management into the project plan from the start, not as an afterthought. The minimum viable AI implementation is not a model or a tool, it is a clear problem statement, a process map, and a named owner who keeps momentum.
On the governance question that kept surfacing: AI-optimised content is still Pharma content. MLR review, Swissmedic alignment, data privacy – none of these disappear because AI generated the first draft. The organisations that thrive will be those who integrate AI into their existing quality and compliance infrastructure, not those who treat it as a separate track.
Seventy voices, one clear signal. We’ll be curious to see how many more have moved from pilot to production by the time we meet again.
Work with FFI Ventures
FFI Ventures works with Pharma organisations across strategy, launch, medical, market access, and commercial to design and deliver AI solutions that create real value and real results.
Our approach is built on Precision AI: Every solution comes with highly qualitative referencing and AI rationale built in, so outputs are traceable, transparent and ready for regulated environments requiring high accuracy.
Whether you are defining your first AI strategy or scaling proven use cases, we bring deep expertise, a proven prioritisation framework, and over 25 pharma implementations to our next discussion.