2026 Annual Meeting Roundtables

At the 2026 Target ALS Annual Meeting, leading experts gathered for a candid roundtable discussion on the current state of biomarker development for ALS: what’s working, where the field is today, and what breakthroughs could change the trajectory of drug development and clinical trials. Topics covered include the promise and limitations of fluid-based biomarkers, the role of neurofilament and emerging candidates, challenges in clinical validation, and how the field can accelerate progress through collaboration and open science. Featuring: Toby Ferguson (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Target ALS Board Member), Danielle Graham (Biogen), Nicholas Ashton (Banner Health), Michael Benatar (University of Miami ALS Center)

At the 2026 Target ALS Annual Meeting, moderator Puneet Batra led a forward-looking roundtable with leaders from pharma, AI-driven biotech, and venture capital to explore how AI and machine learning are already influencing target discovery in neuroscience — and where the field is headed next. The discussion covers real-world applications of AI/ML in target identification, the intersection of large-scale data and biological insight, barriers to translating computational discoveries into therapeutics, and what the next wave of AI-enabled drug discovery could look like for ALS. Featuring: Alexander McCampbell (Roche), Ajamete Kaykas (insitro), Kristina Kitko (Lilly Ventures)