Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences

Global – – October 16, 2026 -- Only 17% of health and life sciences leaders report a centralized approach to internal data governance, according to 2026 Voice of Our Clients (VOC) research, even as organizations move generative AI from pilots into production.

Data governance gaps widen across partner ecosystems

The VOC research found that 54% of the health and life sciences business and IT leaders interviewed have a holistic data strategy across their internal enterprise. Across external ecosystems of partners and suppliers, the share with a holistic strategy falls to 32%, and the share with centralized data governance falls to 14%.

Enterprise AI depends on trusted data and governance that extends beyond individual experiments, so these gaps limit how far AI programs can scale.

Oakland – October 15, 2026 -- Blue Shield of California has appointed Erin Brewer, a strategic advisor and former Lyft chief financial officer, to its Board of Directors, adding more than 25 years of finance and operations experience as the nonprofit health plan pursues its affordability agenda.

Brewer led Lyft through its first full year of profitability

Brewer joined Lyft as CFO in 2023. In that role and in her current advisory capacity, she helped lead a financial transformation that included the ride-hailing company's first full year of profitability.

She oversaw global organizations covering finance, investor relations, internal audit, corporate strategy and business development. Earlier, she held leadership positions at Charles Schwab, Atlassian and McKesson Corporation.

San Francisco – October 15, 2026 -- Benchling launched Science Foundries, a product that lets R&D teams run entire scientific processes with agents and scientists working from the same data, and made it available to its customers the same day.

Teams select a process or goal, such as producing proteins, optimizing a lead or improving a manufacturing process. They then define which steps agents run and where scientists must approve. Agents execute and monitor work, coordinate handoffs and flag key decisions to scientists.

Benchling has spent the past 18 months building AI into its platform. The company says agents are the fastest-growing capability it has released. Science Foundries extend agents from individual tasks to complete workflows.

Chicago – October 15, 2026 -- The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) is one of 24 associations profiled in a new book on how professional bodies guided their members through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author Joanna M. Pineda documents association response across health care and education

"When It Mattered Most: The Untold Story of How Associations Protected Professions and Saved Industries During the Pandemic" was written by association executive Joanna M. Pineda. It covers organizations in health care, education and other industries. AAE appears in the health care section with a chapter titled "When the Pain Can't Wait."

Pineda wrote the book to document pandemic response that often happened outside public view. Associations had to interpret rapidly changing information, advocate for their professions and supply resources to members when no established playbook existed.

Toronto – October 15, 2026 -- PointClickCare has appointed Armughan Ahmad, former chief executive of AI data company Appen (ASX: APX), to its board of directors as the health tech company pushes an AI-first strategy, while Rob Eberle steps down after more than 11 years on the board.

Ahmad brings 25 years of enterprise technology leadership to the board

Ahmad has led multi-billion-dollar businesses through shifts from enterprise data centers to cloud computing to artificial intelligence. At Appen, he led a company serving leading AI labs, hyperscalers and large enterprises.

Before Appen, he was President and Managing Partner of Digital at KPMG, where he ran a digital business delivering services with software products. Earlier, as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Dell Technologies, he oversaw the Hybrid Cloud and High-Performance Computing solutions portfolio, including bringing AI systems to market with NVIDIA.

Indianapolis – October 15, 2026 -- More than one in four ulcerative colitis (UC) patients (27.7%) treated with Eli Lilly and Company's Omvoh (mirikizumab-mrkz) achieved comprehensive disease control at one year, compared with 14% on placebo, according to a post hoc analysis of the LUCENT-2 trial.

In the VIVID-1 Crohn's disease trial, 20.4% of Omvoh-treated patients reached corticosteroid-free deep remission, versus 2% on placebo. Lilly will present both analyses at United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2026.

Cambridge, Mass. – October 15, 2026 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted a second Fast Track Designation to Marengo Therapeutics' invikafusp alfa, extending the drug's expedited status from one tumor type to all tumor mutational burden high (TMB-H) solid tumors regardless of tissue of origin.

The new designation covers unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic TMB-H solid tumors that have progressed after prior treatment, including immune checkpoint inhibition, and for which no satisfactory treatment options exist. Marengo believes invikafusp alfa is the first immuno-oncology T-cell agonist to receive Fast Track Designation in a biomarker-defined, tissue-agnostic indication.

Friendswood, Texas – October 15, 2026 -- Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) will release its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2026, after the close of market on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026.

Management hosts webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 5

Company management will discuss the results on a live webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on the same day. A brief question-and-answer session will follow management's commentary.

Investors can access the webcast through the Investor Relations page of the company's website. The company asks participants to join at least 10 minutes before the start time. A replay will be available after the webcast concludes.

Bronx – October 15, 2026 -- Montefiore Einstein has unveiled a renovated labor and delivery suite at Jack D. Weiler Hospital, funded by a $9.68 million grant from the New York Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program.

The Weiler Mother Baby Unit, on the sixth floor at 1825 Eastchester Road, received a redesigned workflow and capital upgrades to its L&D rooms, maternal surgical suite, and triage and waiting areas. Five of six construction phases are complete. The final phase covers the last two L&D rooms and a back service elevator upgrade, and is planned for completion in early 2027. The work proceeded in phases with no interruption to patient care.

Taipei – October 15, 2026 -- MetaTech AP Inc. (TPEx: 3224) reported revenue of NT$1.391 billion for the first nine months of 2026, up 21% year over year. The company outlined its 2027 strategy at an investor conference, with electronics and biomedicine as its two growth engines.

Electronics revenue rises 24.7% on AI server and power supply demand

The electronics business grew 24.7% year over year in the first nine months. MetaTech AP is pursuing opportunities in AI servers, power supplies and semiconductors. For 2027, it plans to strengthen AI-related applications and sales in the segment.