Inizio Engage’s Emota partnered with the International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory Association (IPCAA) on a research project detailing how HCPs experience medical congresses.

The report, titled “Changing the Rules of Congress Engagement,” includes answers from 251 HCPs interviewed for the project. Participants were pulled from a variety of specialities and hailed from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

It details the following elements:

• Congress participation
• Engagement with pharmaceutical companies
• The shifting role of AI and digital solutions

What findings were revealed in the 2026 Emota and ICAPP report?

In a press release, Emota’s managing director Mark Jackson said, “If there is one overlooked opportunity, it is post-congress engagement. HCPs do not just want content after an event, they expect it. When follow-up is delayed, generic or absent altogether, valuable momentum is lost. Our findings show just how much more impact congress can have when companies get this right.”

In the same press release, IPCAA co-vice president Angela con Bieberstein added, “Sponsored symposia play an important role in the medical congress environment by providing access to scientific data, expert perspectives and peer exchange. Now in its fourth edition, this report shows that two in three healthcare professionals say the insights gained from symposia inform their clinical thinking and decision-making. This underlines the responsibility to ensure symposia are credible, balanced and firmly focused on high-quality education.”

According to the report, HCPs noted the following elements:

• A high satisfaction in congresses paired with increased expectations
• An expectation that engagement is active
• Digital access is critical
• Symposia influences real-world practice
• AI should enhance human connection, not replace it
• Post-congress follow-up is important

In September 2025, Inizio CEO Ryan Quigley spoke with Pharmaceutical Executive about his transition from COO to CEO. During the conversation, he also discussed the challenges and opportunities he saw in the commercialization space.

“The challenges are the opportunities. Science is moving very fast these days. If you look at the ten-year outreach of FDA approvals, we’ve seen that the last two-to-three years had positive momentum on the number of new assets coming to market. Quite a few of those assets have come through a fast review, which means that companies are getting to market quicker.”

He continued, “That brings the challenge with it, however, that they must be super successful on the commercialization journey. To bring an asset to market, it’s not an inexpensive exercise. You need something close to 2 and a half million to spend, and about one third of those assets don’t meet their commercial goals. The challenge is that there’s high expectations because it’s a high investment game to bring new medicines to market, and pharma companies need to use scientific expertise to maximize their launches.

When asked what he trends he saw in pharma commercialization, Quigley said, “What we’re starting to see is a significant change in the ways that our clients want to engage with their customers. The opportunity from AI is that it allows clients to ask a totally different question, which is how they can segment the market even further and get more personalized in the messaging when we bring the scientific data to our clients. It’s helping the different categories of physicians to treat patients in line with the labels that are in place.”

Source

1. Emota & IPCAA Report: Key Insights on Medical Congress Engagement. Inizio Engage. February 3, 2026. https://inizioengage.com/insights/joint-report-from-emota-and-ipcaa/