FORUM events promote multi-sector discussion about cutting edge science and its potential consequences and applications.
Formats range from invited lectures to symposia, roundtables and workshops, offering opportunities for debates and discussions on current policies and practices. They also provide a platform for promoting partnerships and networks, as well as joint actions by key stakeholders from across the life sciences sector.
The FORUM has now run over 50 events on pressing issues for health and biomedical research and policy. These include themes from across the whole translational pathway for medical interventions, from preclinical and discovery science (Delivering novel therapies in the 21st century, Bridging the preclinical-clinical boundary), to clinical trials and new sources of evidence (adaptive trials, real world evidence, clinical trials endpoints) through to the regulation and adoption of new technologies into the NHS (regulatory science, accelerating access).
We've worked with partners across the life sciences sector to deliver influential reports that have guided the thinking of the decision makers across the system and fed directly into key Government strategies such as the Life Sciences Sector Deals and Vision, departmental priority areas such as the Rare Disease Roadmap and the Healthy Ageing Grand Challenge, and supported internal projects by partners such as the Medical Research Council (multiple-long term conditions), Cancer Research UK (early detection and diagnosis) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (adaptive clinical trials).
Our events typically take the form of invitation-only workshops, but we also hold public seminars and conferences.
Recent events
FORUM roundtable: Regulating AI and computational models in clinical trials
Date: September 2025
Chairs: Professor Deborah Ashby OBE FRS FMedSci, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Chair in Medical Statistics and Clinical Trials, Imperial College London and Dr Dan O'Connor, Director of Regulatory Policy and Early Access, ABPI.
Overview: Held in partnership with the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), this small invite-only FORUM roundtable focused on how to enable the adoption of innovative AI and computational modelling technologies for drug development through regulation.
Innovative AI and computational modelling technologies for evidence generation – such as digital twins, AI-driven adaptive tools, and synthetic control arms – could position the UK as a hub for pharmaceutical innovation and lead to reduced burden on patients, improved trial costs, and accelerated trial timelines. This policy roundtable brought together senior experts from across sectors to discuss how to take forward regulatory opportunities and overcome relevant challenges so that researchers can adopt and use these methods to streamline clinical trials.
Transformative medical technologies: from research to impact and back
Date: March 2025
Chair: Professor David Adams FMedSci, Academy of Medical Sciences’ Registrar and Emeritus Professor of Hepatology, University of Birmingham
Overview: This invite-only FORUM roundtable brought together leading figures from across academia, healthcare, industry, government, patient advocacy, and funding bodies. Participants discussed the balance between push and pull mechanisms for supporting the research, development and adoption of transformative MedTech innovation in health and care. The roundtable opened with remarks from Professor Lucy Chappell FMedSci, Chief Scientific Adviser for the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Indro Mukerjee HonFREng FMedSci, former CEO of Innovate UK. Their remarks were followed by a cross-sector panel, with experts from across the four nations of the UK.
Transformative medical technologies FORUM report
