Press

Representative Ikawa will be speaking at the 4th Japan Medical Affairs Summit 2026, which will be held at Nihonbashi Life Science Hub for two days on Monday, April 20th and Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, and will be organized by the Japanese Association of Pharmaceutical Medicine (JAPhMed), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and the Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS).

Speaking session: Monday, April 20th – GENERAL SESSION
15:00 – 17:00: Regional Healthcare Ecosystem: Perspectives from Industry, Regulatory and Academia

*The following is quoted from the JAPhMed page
. This summit, co-hosted by JAPhMed, PhRMA, and MAPS, is one of Japan’s largest medical affairs-related academic conferences, bringing together pharmaceutical industry leaders, medical experts, and thought leaders.

The 2026 theme is “Medical Affairs Leading & Driving Collaboration Across the Healthcare Ecosystem”—Medical Affairs is committed to playing a leading role in various initiatives and collaborations with internal and external stakeholders to enhance the Healthcare Ecosystem. We will hold discussions on how Medical Affairs can proactively demonstrate leadership in enhancing the Healthcare Ecosystem and become a hub for internal collaboration and industry-government-academia collaboration. The Summit will bring together industry experts, clinicians, and academics to discuss and gain insights into new models and best practices related to the conference theme. The Summit will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive workshops on how Medical Affairs, both internal and external, can play a central role in collaboration to deliver fair and valuable healthcare.

Key Highlights:

Opening (Co-chairs): The Chair of the Community will present the definition and significance of the medical ecosystem and discuss the role of medical affairs (MA) in collaboration between academia, pharmaceutical companies, patient groups, and government.

Keynote Panel Discussion (Co-chairs, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Amgen): Toward realizing an optimal ecosystem for healthcare professionals and patients, we will discuss how MA departments can lead the way in building win-win collaborations between pharmaceutical companies, academia, patient groups, and government. We will also discuss the role of MA departments in evidence generation in anticipation of the Next-Generation Medical Infrastructure Act, and whether medical departments can demonstrate their raison d’être in government-patient group collaborations.

Keynote Speech (Argenx President): We will systematize the contributions expected of MA departments from a company-wide perspective, incorporating macro-level issues such as evidence-based approaches, medical costs, drug discovery, drug lag, and AI. We will also discuss the role of human resources in the age of generative AI, innovation, and specific contributions of MA departments to challenges unique to Japan.

Cross-functional Best Practices Session (Takeda, Amgen, BMS): We will share examples of engaging other internal departments, industry-government-academia collaboration, and collaboration with academic societies, pharmacists, and community healthcare, and discuss success factors, reproducibility, and scale.

A fireside chat between Johnson & Johnson’s President and Head of Medical Affairs: We will engage in a future-oriented dialogue on the company’s mission and expectations and contributions for the MA department. We will also discuss the qualities and potential required of the MA department in the current era of rushed new drug approvals, the three pillars of the company’s 2030 vision, and the positioning of the MA department.

A session for true industry-government-academia collaboration (PMDA, university hospital, conference president, and recruiting agency representative): We will examine the gap between ideals and reality, obstacles, and solutions from multiple perspectives, and clarify expectations for the MA department. This session will be conducted with an emphasis on interactive Q&A, engaging participants.

Medical Head Roundtable (Invitation-only) – We will share information and discuss medical affairs talent development, medical affairs performance evaluation methods, and their impact.

Career Development Workshop (Japanese only) – This workshop will focus on career design in the medical affairs department, which has a relatively short history compared to other departments. Through lectures and discussions, participants will engage in a workshop to consider the role of the medical department from a bird’s-eye view, the qualities required for each role, the division of education and generative AI from actual ability, and the mindset and insights required for career design.

Networking Cocktail Reception – After all sessions on Day 1 on Monday, April 20th, we will hold an in-person networking reception to connect participants with pharmaceutical industry leaders, medical experts, and thought leaders.

Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English and Japanese for all sessions on April 20th and the Medical Head Roundtable on April 21st. The Career Development Workshop on April 21st will be in Japanese only.

We encourage all interested teachers to participate.

Event name: JAPhMed-PhRMA-MAPS Japan Medical Affairs Summit 2026Date
and time: Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st April 2026Venue
: Nihonbashi Life Science Hub, 8th floor (COREDO Muromachi 3), Muromachi Chibagin Mitsui Building,
1-5-5 Muromachi, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0022Access : Directly connected to A4 exit of Mitsukoshimae Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line and Ginza LineSite: JAPAN SUMMIT 2026 – Medical Affairs Professional SocietyCo -chairs: Yohei Ohashi (Medical Affairs Division Chair, JAPhMed) Lee Hahn-Ey (APAC Region President, MAPS) Masahisa Jinushi (Medical Affairs Committee Chair, PhRMA) Early bird discounts are available until March 20th, and discounts are available for JAPhMed members who work in academia or pharmaceutical companies.

For inquiries, please contact: Japan Medical Affairs Summit 2026 Secretariat
[Email] kentaro.ishii@novartis.com, michiko.tomiyasu@alexion.com