J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026: Mastering Operational Improvements

According to Maria Andreasen from FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, there will be three operational priorities that will separate bio/pharmaceutical leaders from the rest of the industry in 2026.

On Jan. 12, 2026, global bio/pharma industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators, and members of the investment community will convene in San Francisco for the largest investment healthcare symposium — the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. In this exclusive interview, The Pharma Navigator, chats with Maria Andreasen, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, to find out her thoughts on the anticipated conference conversations around onshoring, artificial intelligence (AI), and operational priorities for the future.

Onshoring Push to Become Clearer

TPN: How is the conversation around onshoring and domestic manufacturing resilience evolving this year compared to previous years, particularly within the context of risk management for long-term supply?

Andreasen: The conversation around onshoring and domestic manufacturing was shrouded in uncertainty until recently. While many pharmaceutical companies announced U.S. investments, a major piece of legislation — the BIOSECURE Act — was in limbo for the past few years. In the final weeks of 2025, key language from the BIOSECURE Act was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will bar executive agencies from procuring biotechnology equipment or services from ‘biotechnology companies of concern’ in ‘adversarial countries’. With this legislation now finalized, the scope of the onshoring push will become clearer once the U.S. government identifies and communicates the biotechnology companies of concern.

For supply-chain risk management, this means innovator companies will seek to strengthen supply-chain agility, with an emphasis on a U.S. presence. As such, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies’ kojoX approach to manufacturing, our model of building and operating ‘modular’ facilities with standardized equipment, processes, and procedures across our sites helps to provide supply chain resilience. With this approach, we can have nearly-identical facilities across the world — offering a local-for-local supply chain approach, where our customers can quickly tech transfer to one of our facilities in a different location.

Benefits of Data-Driven Decision-Making

TPN: Everyone is talking about AI, but who is showing a real return on investment (ROI)? What practical implementations of automation or digitalization do you expect to be high-conviction topics this year?

Andreasen: As an industry, we’ve already seen significant benefit of AI providing ROI in process development, limited time on deviations, supporting various administrative functions, as well as helping to automate and monitor the factory floor through use of real-time data analytics.

This year, we will see the conversation turn to the benefits that data-driven decision-making will have on bioprocessing, which has the potential to improve yields, enhance consistency, reduce deviations, all helping teams move toward the ‘golden batch’.

Significant Operational Improvements

TPN: Finally, if you had to name one operational priority that biopharma peers must master in 2026 to remain competitive, what would it be?

Andreasen: Building on the topic of AI, this technology can greatly assist drug manufacturers in achieving a ‘right first time’ operational approach as well as significant operational improvements. By mining and analyzing data across hundreds-to-thousands of manufacturing runs, running simulations, and having AI predict machine maintenance and optimal cell growth conditions, we can understand potential outcomes even before moving into operations. This will lead to improved batch execution success, higher yields, greater operational efficiencies, and reduced timelines — creating significant competitive advantages for those who invest early in these technologies.

About the Interviewee

Maria Andreasen is the chief strategy officer at FUJIFILM Biotechnologies. In her current role, she leads the corporate global strategy and several functional areas including strategy, communications and kojoX, which is a first-of-its kind in the industry approach to building and operating modular manufacturing facilities. Maria started with the company several years ago when they were breaking ground on the state-of-the-art biomanufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, but her collective experience includes over a decade of leading complex strategic transformational programs globally with a heavy focus on digitalization. Maria hold a master’s degree in psychology and philosophy.

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