What’s on trend for the year ahead? As the life sciences industry enters 2026, our Consulting team weighs in on what may be ahead for the rest of the year. Artificial intelligence continues to dominate strategic conversations, new therapeutic modalities are moving faster than the infrastructure needed to support them, and regulators are sharpening their focus on what constitutes meaningful clinical impact.
To understand what’s coming next, we asked our team of experts across disciplines to share their perspectives on the most significant shifts of the past year—and what they believe will define the year ahead. Their insights point to a common theme: innovation is accelerating, but execution will determine who truly benefits.
Artificial intelligence has become the elephant in the room across life sciences, healthcare, and commercialization. Over the past year, organizations have moved rapidly from experimentation to implementation, racing to integrate AI into everything from analytics and operations to clinical and commercial workflows.
That momentum will continue in 2026, but not without some friction. While AI tools promise efficiency and repeatability, real-world application often come with gaps. Data generated by AI systems can be noisy, inconsistently structured, or incompatible with downstream systems. Without strong guardrails, automation can introduce complexity rather than eliminate it.
As a result, 2026 will see a growing demand for human expertise to support AI adoption, from quality assurance and validation to data structuring and system integration. While anyone can write a prompt, not everyone can ensure outputs meet the technical, regulatory, and operational requirements of life sciences organizations.
Key takeaway: AI will continue to scale rapidly in 2026, but human-led services will be critical to make AI outputs reliable, compliant, and usable across the enterprise.
One of the most impactful developments of the past year has been the rapid advancement of radioligand therapy (RLT). Across multiple cancer types, both beta and alpha emitters are demonstrating meaningful clinical benefit, supported by increasingly robust prospective studies.
In 2026, RLT is expected to move earlier in disease progression, with new combination strategies enhancing outcomes such as overall survival and progression-free survival. Alpha therapies, in particular, have the potential to become a cornerstone treatment for less advanced cancer lesions.
This momentum is drawing increased attention from traditional pharmaceutical companies, signaling a shift away from radioligand development being concentrated solely within nuclear medicine organizations. Large pharma’s interest will likely accelerate these therapies, but it also introduces new operational and regulatory demands.
At the same time, the sector faces real headwinds.
Demand for isotopes is rising faster than supply. Contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), technician training programs, and health authority readiness are struggling to scale at the pace required. These constraints could slow adoption despite strong clinical promise.
Key takeaway: Radioligand therapy will continue its rapid ascent in 2026, but supply chain limitations, workforce gaps, and regulatory preparedness may temper near-term growth.
Another notable shift over the past year has been a heightened regulatory emphasis on clinically meaningful treatment effect. Sponsors are placing greater diligence on defining statistical endpoints that align not just with approval, but with real patient benefit.
Alongside this, there is growing reliance on diagnostic validation—particularly companion diagnostics. In 2026, this trend is expected to intensify, with more studies requiring bridging strategies and rigorous validation frameworks to support regulatory and clinical decision-making.
These dynamics underscore a broader reality: innovation alone is no longer sufficient. Evidence quality, diagnostic reliability, and statistical clarity are becoming differentiators in clinical development success.
AI’s influence on imaging will continue to expand in 2026—but expectations may need recalibration.
There is a growing tendency within pharma to build internal imaging capabilities, often driven by enthusiasm for AI-enabled analysis. However, this approach sometimes underestimates the complexity of imaging workflows and the lessons learned from past models that prioritized specialized expertise.
In many cases, AI in imaging may disrupt before it contributes, introducing operational challenges before delivering measurable value. Organizations that balance innovation with proven best practices, and resist overcorrecting toward automation, will be better positioned for sustainable success.
Taken together, these predictions suggest that 2026 will be a year defined less by novelty and more by execution. AI will continue to lead the development race, but its success will depend on governance, validation, and human oversight. Radioligand therapies will push oncology forward, even as infrastructure and supply chains strain to keep up. Regulators will demand clearer evidence, stronger diagnostics, and more meaningful endpoints.
For life sciences organizations, the challenge—and opportunity—will be navigating this complexity with discipline, expertise, and strategic clarity.
Stay tuned throughout the year as Bracken continues to explore these themes in depth through expert insights, case studies, and industry conversations. Contact us today to set up a meeting with our experts.