Japan’s push to modernise clinical research through artificial intelligence and government-backed investment will take centre stage at one of its largest pharmaceutical industry gatherings, as global leaders from technology, academia and pharma meet in Tokyo.

The Ubie Pharma Summit, one of Japan’s largest pharmaceutical conferences, will bring together more than 1,000 attendees alongside senior figures from government, research institutions and global life sciences companies including AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly Japan, GSK, Novartis and Regeneron.

This year’s discussions come amid a broader national strategy to reduce Japan’s long-standing “drug lag”, a delay in the availability of new therapies compared with other major markets, and to expand annual pharmaceutical R&D investment to ¥3 trillion by 2030 through public-private partnerships and advanced technology adoption.

A key focus of the summit will be the role of AI and data-driven systems in accelerating clinical trials, particularly through the use of real-world evidence and faster regulatory pathways such as Japan’s Sakigake designation and conditional early approval routes for rare diseases.

Speaking at the event, Medable co-founder and chief executive Dr Michelle Longmire will join senior leaders from Google for Health and Mayo Clinic Platform to discuss how AI systems are reshaping clinical development workflows and global trial operations.

Longmire said: “It is an honour to represent my company and country at Japan’s preeminent industry event.”

She added that Japan’s emphasis on innovation and modernisation aligns with broader efforts to bring advanced digital tools into clinical research environments.

Across the industry, attention is increasingly turning to “agentic AI” systems designed to support clinical operations by automating repetitive, compliance-heavy tasks that can slow trial execution.

These systems are being explored for use in areas such as document processing, trial monitoring and regulatory documentation, where large volumes of structured and unstructured data must be validated and reviewed under strict compliance requirements.

Advocates argue that such approaches could reduce administrative burden in clinical development, improve consistency in trial workflows and allow research teams to focus more on study design and patient outcomes.

The summit also reflects a wider trend across global pharma toward integrating AI tools into clinical trial infrastructure, as companies look to improve efficiency, reduce development timelines and increase the scalability of research programmes.

While still at an early stage of adoption, AI-enabled clinical systems are being evaluated across multiple phases of drug development, particularly in trial planning, monitoring and data management.

The Ubie Pharma Summit has previously attracted leaders from across global healthcare and digital health ecosystems, and continues to serve as a platform for discussion around regulatory innovation, real-world evidence and the future of clinical research in Japan and beyond.