The Breakthrough Innovation Forum

What do you get when you combine the best ideas coming out of biology, chemistry and data science?
A powerful tool with the potential to change lives for the better.
From curing incurable diseases, providing people with preventive tools to live healthier, better and longer lives, to producing enough food for our growing population without starving the planet, we are on the brink of unlocking a world of enormous potential.
While the world’s biggest challenges may appear to be very different in nature, the key to overcoming them could be similar. It all comes down to this confluence of the life sciences and data science.
Join us for the Bayer Breakthrough Innovation Forum where we will shed light on the promise this new era in the Life Sciences holds for humanity.


Werner Baumann
CEO of Bayer AG
A new age of innovation in the Life Sciences

Jamie Metzl
Technology Futurist and Author of Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity
The perspective of a futurist

Sarena Lin
Chief Transformation & Talent Officer and Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG
Embracing the opportunities ahead of us – Bayer's transformation

Marianne De Backer
Chief Business Officer, Bayer Pharmaceuticals division
Collaborating to innovate – The power of partnerships

Stefan Oelrich
Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals division
The promise of new treatments powered by new technologies

Christian Rommel
Head of Research and Development, Bayer Pharmaceuticals division
Transforming the lives of patients by leveraging scientific innovation to address previously intractable diseases

Jeff Hatfield
Chief Executive Officer, Vividion Therapeutics

Seth Ettenberg
President and CEO, BlueRock Therapeutics

Jude Samulski
President, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder, AskBio

Heiko Schipper
Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of Bayer’s Consumer Health division
How data and new technologies bring preventative care to a new level

Rodrigo Santos
Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of Bayer’s Crop Science division
Transforming Agriculture for the benefit of farmers, society, and the planet

Robert Reiter
Head of Research and Development, Bayer Crop Science division
Creating a more sustainable food system with breakthrough innovations

Rachel Rama
Head of Small Molecules, Bayer Crop Science division
Creating a more sustainable food system with breakthrough innovations

John Dombrosky
Chief Executive Officer, Oerth bio
Creating a more sustainable food system with breakthrough innovations

Jürg Eckhardt
Head of Leaps by Bayer
Addressing humanity’s biggest challenges: How Leaps by Bayer is venturing into a new realm of the Life Sciences

Nabiha Saklayen
Co-Founder & CEO Cellino

Gonzalo Fuenzalida
Co-Founder & CEO Andes

Anat Binur
Co-Founder & CEO Ukko
While still in its early stages, the convergence of chemistry, biology and data science to accelerate innovation is much more than a theoretical scientific concept. Scientists around the world are already working on applications that leverage today’s enhanced technological toolkit to decode and engineer biology for the benefit of people and the planet.
We are driven to push the limits of what medicine can do today. Cell and gene therapies can move the needle from managing sick care, to providing true healthcare. Precise, personalized care could one day be available to everyone on the planet — before they get sick.
In agriculture, biotechnology will be a critical enabler for our ability to feed the 10 billion people that will be on the planet by 2050 while at the same time fighting the impact of climate change. To grow more food with fewer resources like water, we will need to shift to a regenerative approach and make crops more resilient to climate impacts.
Shorter stature corn, and the number of resources it saves by not snapping in high winds, is just one example of climate-smart agriculture already in action. And advances in digital farming are giving growers the opportunity to maximize the amount of carbon they capture from the atmosphere. Our work to establish the carbon marketplace is one more example of genetics and data coming together to help solve what previously seemed unsolvable.

