T2B Monthly | March 2026
T2B Monthly | March 2026Hi! The work feels especially layered right now, and so do the conversations happening across T2B. This month’s newsletter pulls together a few of the areas where communicators are being asked to bring judgment, steadiness, and stronger partnership. And if you’re in Boston or NY/NJ, I hope to see you at our rescheduled mixers tonight and tomorrow! Details below. Today's email is 2,017 words, a 7-minute read. 🗓️ T2B programming snapshot» TODAY!! T2Bmeet @ Boston | Tuesday, March 31st @ 4:30-7 p.m. ET We’ve rescheduled the Boston meetup that was canceled by the snowstorm! Join fellow T2B members for our Q1 Boston meetup and Communications Career Choices That Compound panel at Vertex for an evening to reconnect, compare notes, and catch up with friends and colleagues. Sign up here | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $50 for Basic. » T2Bmeet @ NY/NJ | Wednesday, April 1st @ 5-7 p.m. ET Our NY/NJ meetup has also been rescheduled! We’re looking forward to connecting with T2Bers from across the NJ / NY / Philly region, with a gathering in Princeton this time. Sign up here | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $30 for Basic. » Q2 PA&E Roundtable Event: What Patient Organizations Actually Need From Biopharma | Friday, April 17th @ 12-1 p.m. ET This T2B Patient Advocacy & Engagement Roundtable will explore how communicators can build stronger partnerships with patient groups, use patient stories more responsibly, and better understand what meaningful patient-centric communication looks like in practice. Save the date – registration opens soon. | Free and exclusive to T2B Pro and Student members (Basic members not permitted). » T2Bmeet @ San Diego | Thursday, April 23rd @ 5-7:30 p.m. PT Brought to us for a second year in a row by Real Chemistry, 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. | $50 for Basic. » April Comm Convo: Beyond Self-Care to Structural Change | Tuesday, April 28th @ 12-1 p.m. ET Burnout in biopharma comms is often driven by structural challenges, and can’t be fixed simply with self-care. This conversation will focus on how communications leaders can address the root causes — from workload design to leadership practices — and share practical strategies for building more sustainable teams. Join this discussion on what it takes to protect performance and people in a profession where we’re always on. Sign up here. | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $40 for Basic. » T2Bmeet @ ASCO We’re coming back to Chicago for our second annual T2Bmeet @ ASCO. Currently working out the details, but stay tuned if you’re based in the Windy City or will be in town for ASCO. Registration opens soon. | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $50 for Basic. » 2nd Annual T2B Biopharma Comms Forum: Clarity at the Flashpoint | Coming June 2026 (Full Day) in Boston The theme for T2B’s 2026 Forum is Clarity at the Flashpoint. Because there will undoubtedly continue to be more flashpoints, and we communicators need to bring, and be, that clarity. This year’s Biopharma Comms Forum will gather our community for a full day of programming and connection as we 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. Waterhouse returns as a partner, with support from Genevieve de Manio Photography. Registration opens in just a few days! | Complimentary for T2B Pro and Student members. | $875 for Basic. 🎥 ICYMI: Recent event replaysWe aim to record most T2B virtual programs so you can revisit useful discussions or catch up when schedules get busy. Recent replays are available to T2B Pro and Student members on our Dashboard page.
🥂 Upcoming biopharma comms mixersOne of the most important drivers when I launched T2B was to make sure we’re providing a platform for continuous dialogue. So, T2B conversations intentionally move between formats. Whether through sharing knowledge at our roundtable events, brainstorming with colleagues during Peer-Learning Practicum cohort meetings, or learning from experts at Comm Convos, each touchpoint builds on the last. I thought it was worthwhile to call out our in-person meetups because they are an important way that dialogue continues. Hope to see many of you tonight in Boston, tomorrow in Princeton, or next month in San Diego! 💬 No self-care listicles here; what structural changes to make?Burnout in our profession most definitely isn’t only about individual resilience or better self-care habits. It’s often shaped by how our work is structured. This conversation brings together a unique mix of perspectives: a communications leader who has written about how our profession can address burnout more directly, an executive coach who works closely with biopharma PR practitioners at pivotal career and life transitions, and leaders who have experienced the pressures of industry transformation firsthand, from major transactions to career reinvention. Together, they’ll explore how we move beyond the myth of “work-life balance” toward more realistic ways of working, how leaders can advocate for structural improvements, and how to recognize early signs of burnout before they become retention risks. This session is designed for communicators who want to engage in a meaningful conversation about what sustainable leadership actually looks like in today’s biopharma environment. 📡 Digital & Social Media Roundtable trend watchThe first resource from T2B’s Digital & Social Media Roundtable is now live. In this inaugural piece, Roundtable Chair Alex Nicholson (Senior Director, Digital Strategy, AstraZeneca and Alexion) outlines why digital teams are often first to spot emerging risks and narrative shifts, and how that visibility is reshaping digital’s role as a strategic partner across communications, legal, HR, and corporate affairs. If digital/social media is your lane, great – take a read to see what our experts are paying attention to. But if this is not your area of specialty, this article is an excellent opportunity to dip your toes in! Read Alex’s take here. And watch for the Roundtable’s first virtual event coming in Q2! 📰 Biopharma Beats Bulletins are backOur latest Biopharma Beats Bulletin features Sue Sutter, Senior Editor at Pink Sheet (Citeline), an authoritative voice covering FDA regulation and drug policy. She shares her thoughts about how FDA policy reporters evaluate pitches, what makes a source credible, and why access to real expertise matters more than ever in today’s regulatory environment. A few takeaways from her conversation with T2B Media Minds Roundtable member Mark Marmur:
Sue also noted she’s closely watching how the FDA is approaching approvals under the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program and the agency’s use of newer regulatory pathways. Read the full bulletin here. 🤝 New event: What Patient Organizations Actually Need From Biopharma CommsPatient organizations often have the clearest view into how biopharma communications land. The Patient Advocacy & Engagement Roundtable’s Q2 event brings together leaders from patient advocacy and industry to share what’s useful, what creates friction, and where there’s an opportunity to build stronger, more trusted relationships. The discussion on Friday, April 17th, will explore how patient stories are interpreted, common missteps that weaken credibility, and how communications teams can work more effectively with patient organizations as true partners. Stay tuned for registration details, coming soon! 🎗️ Sponsorships, grants, coalitions… New guide for working with PAOsIn this recent Patient Advocacy & Engagement resource, roundtable member Jeff Sears (Astellas Pharma) shares his perspective on how communicators can approach engagement with patient advocacy organizations thoughtfully and responsibly. The piece covers sponsorships, grants, coalitions, non-financial engagement, and the gray areas that teams often encounter. He suggests a simple gut check when thinking about engagement with patient advocacy organizations. When something feels unclear, ask yourself these basic questions: ➡️ Is this about patients and disease — or about us? If those questions are hard to answer, that’s usually the signal to pause and reassess. For teams working across communications, patient advocacy, legal, and compliance, this resource offers a practical framework for making more confident, transparent engagement decisions. Read the entire guide here. 🧩 Employee engagement as a strategic commitmentMeredith Kiernan (Mirum Pharmaceuticals) recently wrapped up her team as Year 1 Chair of T2B’s Culture Connect Roundtable. She closed out her tenure by compiling our March resource: reflections from inaugural roundtable members on employee engagement practices communicators can apply right away. The piece highlights approaches like strengthening partnerships with HR, bringing greater discipline to internal messaging, creating more opportunities to listen, and consistently recognizing employee contributions. One clear takeaway from the discussion: strong employee engagement often reflects how well communicators integrate across functions and reinforce priorities consistently across the organization. Thank you to Meredith and our inaugural Culture Connect Roundtable members for helping establish such a strong foundation for this community! Definitely lots more to come as Year 2 gets underway! Read the article here. 👀 Seen on socialAI strategist Claudia Saleh, who currently works at Disney and Oxford, shares an interesting observation from her AI adoption work: “The moment a company tries to move from AI interest to AI in real work, deeper issues start coming into view. … AI puts pressure on the way the organization already operates, and that pressure reveals the quality of the foundations underneath.” We often get caught up in the latest AI use cases or rate of adoption at our orgs/clients. We’re certainly paying attention to all that at T2B (yes, for you watchful readers, consider this your teaser for a very cool AI community initiative we’re launching next month!). But it’s worth a reminder that any new, shiny AI tool is only as good as the underlying organizational infrastructure… like how decisions get made and who has the ear of employees. ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini may have excellent ideas about how to streamline bureaucracy or for the latest creative integrated comms strategy, but ultimately – at least for now(!) – we humans are the ones implementing all of that. Read Claudia’s post here. |
T2B Monthly
Hi! T2B's Investor Relations Roundtable is adding three new members for Year 2. If you work at the intersection of IR and corporate comms — whether that's your primary focus or part of a broader role — we invite you to consider applying. About the roundtable Chaired by Deborah Elson, Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at Tonix Pharmaceuticals, the roundtable is a small working group focused on advancing IR practice across the biopharma industry. Returning members...
Hi! Regardless if you’re a solopreneur, agency founder or leader, or in-house practitioner, knowing the business of the business is table stakes for us communicators. Powerhouse Andrea Johnston will join us to share lessons from her 30+ years of experience spanning corporate, agency, and entrepreneurship. As many of you know, Andrea built Pure Communications, growing it from a one-woman firm in 2004 into a leading biotech and pharma marketing partner before its acquisition by W2O Group (now...
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