T2B Monthly | January 2026

Hi!

January has felt like a moment of calibration. Living in a world constantly ablaze has pushed me to be more intentional and to give more grace. I’m trying to notice when moving quickly helps, and when clarity, judgment, and restraint matter more.

As we head into the months ahead, I’m paying close attention to how we show up in uncertain moments: asking better questions, trusting our perspective, and staying connected (both to ourselves and each other) while doing demanding work. I hope that mindset resonates with you, too, as you move through 2026.

Today's email is 2,268 words, a 9.5-minute read.

🗓️ T2B programming snapshot

» Deadline for T2B Peer-Learning Practicum enrollment | Monday, February 2nd EOD

Join a small, facilitated peer-coaching cohort that meets monthly through June.

More details + enroll here. Exclusive to T2B Pro and Student members

» Q1 Culture Connect Roundtable Event – Bridging Generational Gaps: Communicating Across Four Generations in Biotech | Tuesday, February 3rd @ 12-1 p.m. ET

​Led by author and consultant Erin-Kate Whitcomb (Working Courage), this session will unpack how generational perspectives shape communication styles, decision-making, and employee engagement.

Register here. Free and exclusive for T2B Pro and Student members (Basic members not permitted).

» Comm Convo: State of the FDA, One Year In | Thursday, February 5th @ 12-1 p.m. ET

This session will provide practical insights on what's actually changed, what the agency is prioritizing now, and how communicators can effectively rebuild relationships and navigate this new environment.

Registration here. | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $40 for Basic.

Note: This session is off-the-record and will not be recorded. The only way to participate is live.

» Q1 Media Minds Roundtable Panel - What Will 2026 Look Like for Biotech and Healthcare? Post-JPM Journalist Perspectives | Thursday, February 12th @ 12-1 p.m. ET

​This press panel brings together leading journalists (including Max Bayer of Endpoints Mandy Jackson of Citeline) to reflect on the conversations, signals, and omissions they heard in SF and how those insights are already reshaping what they’re reporting on in 2026.

Register here. Free and exclusive for T2B Pro and Student members (Basic members not permitted).

» Comm Convo: Fighting Misinformation Without Amplifying It | Thursday, February 19th @ 12-1 p.m. ET

Not every false claim deserves a response, and some responses do more harm than good. This Comm Convo explores how we can navigate misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.

Save the date. Registration opening soon. | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $40 for Basic.

» T2Bmeet @ Boston | Tuesday, February 24th @ 4:30-7 p.m. ET

Join fellow T2B members for our Q1 Boston meetup and Communications Career Choices That Compound panel – an evening to reconnect, compare notes, and ease into the year with friends and colleagues.

Sign up here. | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $50 for Basic.

» T2Bmeet @ NY/NJ | Wednesday, February 25th @ 5-7 p.m. ET

We’re looking forward to connecting with colleagues from across New Jersey, New York, and the Philadelphia region — gathering in NJ this time.

Sign up here. | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $30 for Basic.

» Q1 AI Roundtable Event - Beyond ChatGPT: The AI Toolkit Every Communicator Needs in 2026 | Friday, February 27 @ 12-1 p.m. ET

Building on our last AI fundamentals workshop, this forward-looking discussion will dive into how to put top tools to work, from content generation and workflow automation to measurement and compliance considerations.

Register here. Free and exclusive for T2B Pro and Student members (Basic members not permitted).

» Q1 Masterclass – The Business of the Business: Building Communications Practices That Scale | Tuesday, March 31st @ 12-1 p.m. ET

Growth as a biopharma communicator increasingly depends on mastering the business behind the work. This masterclass with Andrea Johnston, a biopharma comms veteran, agency founder and executive, will focus on the fundamentals required to build resilient, scalable communications practices.

Register here. Free and exclusive for T2B Pro and Student members (Basic members not permitted).

» T2Bmeet @ San Diego | Thursday, April 23rd @ 5-7:30 p.m. PT

​This come-and-go networking event is open to all biopharma communicators and IR pros in the T2B community. Whether you're local to San Diego or in town for Fierce Pharma Engage, come mix and mingle with friends and colleagues!

Sign up here. | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $30 for Basic.

📍 T2B's JPM wrap-up

JPM week is a lot. But seeing this community show up with intention was a reminder of what grounds T2B: sharing knowledge, building real relationships, and continuing to grow strategically together.

Our T2Bmeet @ JPM reception had a record turnout for a single in-person T2B event, and for the first time, we provided coworking space for the community throughout the week. Thank you to FleishmanHillard for hosting us again and to AlphaSense for sponsoring, and to GCI Health for making the T2B Commons possible.

During my reception toast, I shared how steadying it is to know we can show up for each other, even amid uncertainty, and encouraged us to trust our judgment sooner and be more willing to name the value of this work. As communicators, we are the Ticket to Biotech. If we don’t help tell the stories of this industry thoughtfully and with context, who will?

⏰ Peer coaching enrollment deadline on Monday!

T2B’s Peer-Learning Practicum (PLP) brings small groups of biopharma communicators together for monthly, facilitator-led peer coaching focused on the real challenges of our work. Each session is centered around a shared theme tied to broader T2B community programs (past topics have included building trust inside complex organizations, securing strategic buy-in, and navigating career transitions). Designed for candid exchange across roles and experience levels, the PLP emphasizes shared learning and sustained professional connection.

Cohorts meet virtually 1x/monthly for ~1 hour from February to June 2026.

Enroll here by this Monday, February 2nd. Open exclusively to T2B Pro and Student members. (Not a competitive application; all Pro members are guaranteed a spot.) Enrollment will not reopen again until July.

💬 Upcoming Comm Convos

Biopharma communicators are operating in an increasingly complex environment shaped by political uncertainty, regulatory flux, and the growing politicization of science, amid a news environment where misinformation spreads quickly and trust is challenging to maintain.

Our upcoming sessions tackle two areas where many teams are feeling uncertainty, pressure, and rapid change.

🗓️ February 5th Comm Convo: State of the FDA, One Year In - Register here​

Even highly experienced teams are asking the same question: How do we work effectively with the agency now? While this may sound U.S.-centric, the implications are global. This session will focus on what has actually changed one year on, and how communicators can adapt their approach in this evolving landscape.

🗓️ February 19th Comm Convo: Fighting Misinformation Without Amplifying It - Save the date!

We’ll examine how to assess whether “setting the record straight” might do more harm than good, navigate cross-functional tension around response approaches, and equip teams with tactics that counter false claims without repeating them.

🧩 Q1 Culture Connect Roundtable event: Bridging Generational Gaps

Communicating across generations, whether inside our organizations or with clients, can be just as challenging as the external work we do. Expectations around feedback, leadership, collaboration, and culture don’t always align, particularly in our fast-moving industry.

This interactive fireside chat features Erin-Kate Whitcomb, author of Good Work: How Gen X and Millennials are the Dream Team for Collaborating Well and Doing Good, in conversation with Culture Connect Roundtable member Carolyn Noyes. Together, they’ll examine how generational perspectives shape communication styles, decision-making, and engagement, and what leaders and colleagues can do to bridge those differences productively.

🗓️ Tuesday, February 3rd from 12-1 p.m. ET.

👉 Sign up here. (All T2B member-led roundtable programming is exclusive to T2B Pro and Student members. Basic members are not permitted.}

📰 Q1 Media Minds Roundtable panel: Post-JPM Journalist Perspectives

Our next press panel brings together leading journalists (including Max Bayer of Endpoints Mandy Jackson of Citeline) to reflect on what they saw, heard, and discussed at JPM, and how those insights are already shaping their coverage in 2026.

Expect a candid discussion on how innovation, capital, regulation, geopolitics, and access are increasingly colliding, and what that convergence means for biotech and healthcare storytelling this year. The session will also unpack what reporters are listening for now when they speak with executives, why some stories earn follow-up while others fade, and which themes didn’t surface prominently at JPM but may define the year ahead.

Brought to us by T2B's Media Minds Roundtable, this is an opportunity to understand how journalists are reading the room post-JPM, and how that perspective is influencing what they’ll cover this year.

👉 T2B Pro and Student members can sign up for this February 27th session here.

🤖 Q1 AI event: Beyond ChatGPT

The gap between AI-curious and AI-fluent communicators is widening fast, and the tools have moved well beyond basic prompts.

Our AI Roundtable’s Q1 virtual event, Beyond ChatGPT: The AI Toolkit Every Communicator Needs in 2026, builds on last quarter’s AI discussion to further help biopharma communicators explore which tools to use, when to use them, and how to get meaningfully better results from each.

Roundtable members Nathaniel Reagan and Matthew Snodgrass will break down the major large language models (LLMs) every practitioner should be experimenting with (with guidance on what each does best). They’ll also explore specialized tools for specific communications tasks and demonstrate advanced prompting and voice-first workflows live.

This session is supported by our AI Roundtable knowledge partner Syneos Health Communications.

🗓️ Friday, February 27th, 12-1 p.m. ET

👉 T2B Pro and Student members can register here.

🎓 Q1 Masterclass: The Business of the Business

Strong storytelling and strategic counsel are no longer enough; sustainable growth requires understanding the business of your business.

The Business of the Business: Building Communications Practices That Scale is a Q1 2026 T2B professional development masterclass designed for founders, agency leaders, solopreneurs, and in-house practitioners navigating growth, complexity, and changing client demands.

In this session, biopharma communications veteran and agency founder Andrea L. Johnston will share the lessons she has learned while building, scaling, and leading communications organizations across agency, client-side, and private equity environments.

Sign up here. Quarterly masterclasses are exclusive to T2B Pro and Student members. (Basic members are not permitted.)

🫶 Q1 Roundtable Resource: Patient Advocacy & Engagement

Patient advocacy sits at the heart of how we do our work. Beyond what we say, it shapes but how we listen, build trust, and make decisions alongside the communities we serve.

Our Patient Advocacy & Engagement Roundtable has put together a resource called Patient Advocacy 101 for Biotech Communications Professionals. This overview is designed to help communicators understand where patient advocacy fits across drug development, how it intersects with (but is distinct from) corporate communications, and what responsible engagement looks like at every stage in a biotech company’s development.

A big thank-you to Alejandra Cerros of our Patient Advocacy & Engagement Roundtable for compiling this thoughtful and practical guide!

Find the Patient Advocacy 101 guide here. Our other Roundtable resources are located on your Dashboard page, accessible when you’re logged into your Pro or Student account.

⚡ 2026 T2B Forum announced: Clarity at the Flashpoint

The theme for T2B’s 2026 Forum is Clarity at the Flashpoint. Why? Because there will undoubtedly continue to be more and more flashpoints, and we communicators need to bring and to be that clarity.

The people in our profession see patterns others miss because we’re connected across stakeholder ecosystems. We monitor signals from patients, physicians, regulators, investors, and employees simultaneously, and we’re often the ones expected to act when uncertainty is high and the path forward isn’t obvious.

Taking place in Greater Boston in June 2026 (don’t worry, the date won’t compete with BIO), this year’s Biopharma Comms Forum will bring our community together for a full day of programming and connection. We will examine how senior communications leaders navigate uncertainty, build influence systems that endure budget cuts and leadership changes, orchestrate complex stakeholder dynamics, and lead with authority when it matters most.

We’re thrilled to have Waterhouse returning as a sponsor, welcoming Genevieve de Manio Photography as a supporter, and looking forward to sharing more details as the forum comes together. Stay tuned for more!

👀 Seen on social

In a recent LinkedIn post, angel investor and AI startup advisor Allie K. Miller highlighted a takeaway from the January 2026 Anthropic Economic Index that shows the quality of AI outputs closely mirrors the quality of human input. The data indicates a near-perfect correlation (0.92) between the education level of user prompts and the sophistication of AI responses, reinforcing that rather than AI replacing thinking, it reflects it.

Her point is a clear reminder for all of us that keeping humans in the loop matters. Without strong foundational knowledge, critical thinking, and judgment, AI simply accelerates surface-level work. As Miller puts it, the tool is only as powerful as the person wielding it, making continued investment in human capability critical.

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