Carol Peña
Associate VP, Companion Diagnostic Development (Cdx) Merck
Seminars
Tuesday 6th October 2026
Integrating Science & Strategy to Advance Companion Diagnostic Development for Optimal Patient Treatment
2:30 pm
- Discussing how CDx offer the ability to select optimal treatments for each patient based on biology, while the field continues to expand rapidly amid technological and regulatory change
- CDx development must balance optimal test performance, ideal technologies, and innovative approaches with global accessibility, testing paradigm fit, development and test cost, while fulfilling regulatory requirements
- Showcasing how technologies such as digital pathology with AI and ML-based interpretation, ctDNA, and multiplex assays offer the potential for increased accuracy in supporting optimal treatment selection for each patient, but each presents its own challenges
Wednesday 7th October 2026
Panel Discussion: Transforming Patient Monitoring Through Innovation in Liquid Biopsy Analytes, Detection Sensitivity & Data Interpretation
12:50 pm
- What are the most impactful recent innovations in liquid biopsy biomarkers, and how can these be robustly validated and effectively integrated into clinical trial designs?
- How can drug-diagnostic stakeholders build high-value, collaborative frameworks to advance liquid biopsy technologies, particularly in improving detection sensitivity, standardization, and data interpretation?
