R/Pharma at posit::conf(2026)

Four days of pharma-focused programming in Houston

posit::conf(2026) is September 14–16 in Houston, but for pharma teams the programming starts a full day earlier. Join us on Sunday, September 13 for the R/Pharma Summit, then stay for R/Pharma workshops (Monday), posit::conf(2026) main stage talks (Tuesday & Wednesday) -  four days of the most concentrated gathering of open-source life sciences practitioners anywhere!

Here's the full schedule:

• Sunday, September 13: R/Pharma Summit (pre-conference)
• Monday, September 14: R/Pharma Workshops (Pharmaverse & Administering Environments)
• Tuesday–Wednesday, September 15–16: Pharma Talks at posit::conf(2026)

posit::conf(2026) brings one of the largest gatherings of R and Python practitioners in life sciences under one roof. This year's pharma programming spans four days and three formats, with a dedicated R/Pharma Summit on September 13, two full-day pharma workshops on September 14, and talks from speakers at Pfizer, Regeneron, and Bristol Myers Squibb during the main conference on September 15–16.

R/Pharma Summit, Sunday September 13

Over the last five years we've seen explosive growth in the use of R, Python, and other open-source technologies across drug development - with an accelerating focus on AI. The R/Pharma Summit provides an open, collaborative, and inclusive environment to foster in-person discussions on key topics: AI, validated computing environments, scalable infrastructure, and regulatory compliance.

The Summit builds on what R/Pharma started at Harvard University in 2018 - bringing people into a room to start the conversations that matter. This event unites thought leaders and decision makers to discuss AI, open source, and pharma. Notes and actions are shared openly with the community at https://rinpharma.com/docs/summit/

The R/Pharma Summit is a full-day roundtable on September 13 at the Hilton Americas-Houston, the day before the main conference workshops begin. Organized by the non-profit Open-Source in Pharma, including representatives from several large pharmaceutical companies, the Summit brings together 80 to 100 pharma leaders and practitioners for focused discussions on the topics that matter most to the open-source drug development community.

If you want to help shape the agenda, please get involved in the discussion here.

R/Pharma Summit tickets are $599 as a standalone ticket, or available as an add-on with a posit::conf(2026) conference pass: https://conf.posit.co/2026/registration. If you'd like to attend the Summit without a full conference pass, contact conf@posit.co for assistance.

Pharma workshops, September 14

There are 2 hands-on R/Pharma workshops on September 14 that are full-day sessions focused either on Pharmaverse end-user adoption and IT/Admin:

Modern Clinical Reporting in R with the Pharmaverse. Designed for clinical programmers and biostatisticians producing tables, listings, and graphs for regulatory submissions, this session covers a complete end-to-end workflow from raw data to analysis deliverables using Pharmaverse tools. You'll work through standards-aligned SDTM preparation, ADaM dataset creation, and high-quality TLG generation supported by Analysis Results Datasets (ARDs). The session also explores where AI-assisted tooling can fit into these workflows to support faster iteration and reduce manual rework, without sacrificing transparency, reproducibility, or reviewability. You'll leave with a modular, reusable playbook for applying R to every stage of clinical reporting.

Instructors:

• Daniel Sjoberg, Genentech
• Becca Krouse, GSK
• Magdalena Krochmal, Roche

Session on Administering and Orchestrating Next-Gen Statistical Environments for AI and Open Source Enabled Infrastructure for Regulated Use Cases. As the industry pivots toward AI-integrated workflows and hybrid open-source stacks, the 2026 administrative workshop focuses on the evolution of GxP-compliant infrastructure. This session, co-hosted by Pfizer and Posit, addresses orchestrating reproducible environments that bridge R, Python, and Large Language Model (LLM) frameworks. Through a collaborative deep-dive, we will explore advanced infrastructure strategies, validated package management, and the deployment of AI-assisted tools within highly regulated research and clinical reporting pipelines.

Instructors:

• Pfizer & Posit Representives

Both workshops run from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM CDT and are in-person only.

Pharma talks on the main stage, September 15-16

The R/Pharma Summit and workshops are reason enough to come to Houston, but the main conference days give pharma attendees even more to work with. Your peers at major pharma companies are presenting how they've operationalized open source and AI across their organizations. Two themes connect the pharma talks.

Scaling frameworks and automation. Isabel Glauss from Boehringer Ingelheim presents DaVinci, a modular Shiny framework for exploring clinical trial data. As Shiny apps scale across an organization, teams run into duplicated code, inconsistent user experience, and expensive validation cycles. DaVinci solves this with reusable, qualified modules that follow shared standards. Nick Giangreco from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals presents {rtemplate}, an R-based automation framework built to support hundreds of biomarker-focused clinical and exploratory studies. When your team runs that many studies, standardized and reproducible early-stage analyses aren't optional.

AI-assisted workflows in regulated settings. Leslie Emery from Bristol Myers Squibb shares how her team is using large language models to harmonize clinical trial data across studies and formats, replacing the extensive manual scripting that cross-study analysis has traditionally required. Tanya Cashorali from TCB Analytics demonstrates how to turn LLM outputs into governed, auditable, and reusable pharma intelligence using Snowflake and Shiny. Felippe Lazar Neto from the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology introduces CancerTrialsBR, a Shiny application that combines R, Google Maps, and LLMs to improve access to cancer clinical trial information in Brazil.

Clinical and healthcare talks

Beyond pharma, posit::conf(2026) features data science teams from hospitals and health systems applying the same open-source tools to patient care and public health.
 

Whether your work is in drug development, clinical delivery, or biomedical research the R ecosystem spans the full spectrum of life sciences and healthcare.

Register for posit::conf(2026)

From leadership strategy at the R/Pharma Summit, to infrastructure and clinical programming in the workshops, to real-world implementations on the main stage, there's something for every role on your team. The strongest conference experience comes from bringing your people together for all four days.

Register for posit::conf(2026), September 14-16, 2026, in Houston. Add the R/Pharma Summit (September 13) during the registration process – or email conf@posit.co if you’d like to register only for the Summit. Browse the full session lineup to start planning your schedule.

Frequently asked questions

What is the R/Pharma Summit at posit::conf(2026)?

The R/Pharma Summit is a full-day roundtable event on September 13, 2026, at the Hilton Americas-Houston, the day before the main conference begins. Organized by the R/Pharma committee, it brings together 80 to 100 pharma leaders and practitioners for focused discussions on reproducibility, regulatory submissions, and cross-company collaboration in open-source drug development. Tickets are $599 standalone or as part of a bundle. If you have any questions about the registration process, please contact us at conf@posit.co.

What pharma-specific workshops are available at posit::conf(2026)?

Two full-day pharma workshops run on September 14. "Administering and Orchestrating Next-Gen Statistical Environments" covers AI, cloud-native infrastructure, validation strategies, and scaling options for regulated environments. "Modern Clinical Reporting in R with the Pharmaverse" covers end-to-end clinical reporting workflows using SDTM, ADaM, TLGs, and ARDs, with guidance on where AI-assisted tooling fits into regulated pipelines.

Which pharma companies are presenting at posit::conf(2026)?

Speakers from Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and Bristol Myers Squibb are all presenting at posit::conf(2026). Their talks cover modular Shiny frameworks for clinical trial data, automated biomarker analytics, and LLM-assisted clinical data harmonization. Additional pharma-relevant talks come from TCB Analytics and the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology.

How does posit::conf(2026) address AI in pharma?

Multiple sessions explore how pharma teams are adopting AI within regulated settings. Bristol Myers Squibb presents on using large language models to harmonize clinical trial data. TCB Analytics demonstrates governing LLM outputs for auditable pharma intelligence. The Pharmaverse workshop covers AI-assisted tooling for clinical reporting, and the infrastructure workshop includes AI-assisted workflows through Positron Assistant. The R/Pharma Summit will include dedicated sessions and roundtable discussions on AI as well.

Who should attend posit::conf(2026) from a pharma team?

The conference programming serves multiple roles on a pharma data science team. The R/Pharma Summit is designed for leaders and senior practitioners focused on strategy and cross-company collaboration. The workshops serve platform engineers and clinical programmers working on validated infrastructure and regulatory reporting. The main conf talks benefit anyone building or scaling open-source data science tools in a pharma environment.