At the outset, a disclaimer. This piece is potentially “old hat” for you, as it comes from someone who has retired from executive/managerial roles. But wait! One cannot ever retire from observing, admiring, and, therefore, learning. “With all thy getting, get understanding” — a biblical verse inscribed in a Cytel founder’s office — is etched in my mind, so the insatiable quest for absorbing.

What’s in store in the year ahead and beyond? A few things come to my mind:

AI and even more AI

I know, I know. You have probably had an overdose on readings about AI. Still, my two cents in short bullets.

• You gotta learn to use AI seriously. Like it or not. So, you better like it.
• You don’t need to become an AI expert, just a skilled user.
• Examine your job description. Anything routine/mechanical is going to evaporate with AI magic. So, amplify your focus on innovating, creating, and original thinking.
• Don’t trust AI blindly. Find smart ways to validate what it churns out.

While AI usage is still in a nascent stage, early adopters of smart prompt engineering and dependable validation will be at a great advantage for future opportunities.

Here at Cytel we have access to a first-rate suite of AI tools. Judicious and ingenious use paves excellent career growth pathways. Go get started!

Domain knowledge shall reign supreme

Through my 28 years at Cytel, every occasion of learning something new about drug development brought me new opportunities. Whether it be a complex therapeutic area, or how adaptive designs are crafted, or how drug delivery works, or how DMC functions — a little bit of enlightenment went a long way in delivering greater value to a client. Regardless of one’s specialization (the “horizontal”), the domain “vertical” opens doors to career growth. I see that becoming even more prominent going forward.  For example, real-world data (RWD) is helping accelerate and enhance drug development, and I have seen young statisticians get excellent opportunities based on their deepening understanding of RWD.

Jack of all trades

I have been a firm believer of broader knowledge (not just deeper) working wonders. Occasionally, when I was pushed into supporting business development (e.g., crafting RFP responses, or making a pre-sales demo and presentation), the value of knowing a little bit of everything dawned bright and clear. This year and beyond in future, I feel sure versatility will be a big virtue — for value delivery to the client and, therefore, to one’s own career.

GCCs (Global Capability Centers) gain traction

Knowledge-focused companies like Cytel are ideally suited to become skilled competency centers serving global sponsors. The three-decade-old idea of SDFs in the Software Industry is reincarnating now through the concept of GCCs in our domain. Deep scientific knowledge, when combined with deep understanding of a specific sponsor’s processes and specialties is invaluable. “Outsourcing” began with simple cost saving as the core proposition. That has rapidly matured toward 1) tapping large talent pools; 2) innovation and intellectual property creation; and 3) specialized CoEs (Centers of Excellence). In 2026 and beyond, I foresee GCCs becoming knowledge powerhouses. And I foresee global biopharma continuing to welcome specialist service providers to host the GCCs, in addition to their own DIY versions.

PHUSE APAC Connect

From expressing the news and my views, let me now move on to PHUSE. This global Healthcare Data Science Community, over the past two decades, initially held annual conferences all across Europe. It then spread its wings to the US with the CSS (Computational Sciences Symposium), partnering with the US FDA, and then to the “US Connect” annual conferences.

It is now making a grand debut in the Asia Pacific Region. The first ever “APAC Connect” of PHUSE is scheduled from February 19–21 in Hyderabad, India. PHUSE has a large following in the APAC region with over 10,000 members spread across India, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and several other countries.

What’s more, this event will include the India CDISC Day 2026!!!

This event will address a few major themes.  

• GCCs in the APAC region. This region has the unique advantage of a huge talent pool and is moving up from cost efficiency to innovation hubs and CoEs.
• Impact of AI. How AI will reshape careers and leadership in drug development. This topic will figure across panel discussions, presentations, and the leadership stream.
• There will also be a panel discussion on upcoming innovations in drug development that are going to be potential game-changers.

If you are attending the event, use the PHUSE app to curate your personalized agenda and schedule, choosing among the multiple parallel streams.

Cytel has always been a big participant at PHUSE events. Consider these snippets:

• Several first-time Cytel presenters have won best presentation prizes
• We have been exhibitors and sponsors at many of PHUSE events
• A few folks, like Angelo Tinazzi from our Geneva office, are celebrated contributors to a number of PHUSE initiatives. Angelo authored the much-acclaimed eBook The Good Data Submission Doctor on Data Submission and Data Integration to the FDA.
• A Cytelian, having served as a PHUSE Board Member, and being instrumental in bringing PHUSE to Asia, has been invited to chair the Inaugural APAC Connect. Guess who that is!😊
• Two more Cytelians, Pratibha Jalui and Sudipta Basu, are serving as Stream Co-Chairs.
• Angelo will be the EU Connect Chair later this year (he served as the Co-Chair last year) in Glasgow, Scotland.
• This is the first time ever that Cytelians have been chosen for this privilege.
• At the PHUSE APAC Connect, we have lots of Cytel presenters: Corey Dunham, Pratibha Jalui, Diganta Bose, Aboli Katdare, Charles Warne, Pradip Maske, Chandan Patel Malyala, and Anoop Rawat. We will also have an exhibit booth (#4) with Mansha Sachdev representing our marketing team.

Personally, PHUSE has been a booster rocket for my professional career. It brought numerous opportunities of engaging with three significant audiences:

• Industry peers, exchanging ideas and co-driving initiatives
• Prospects among big pharma and biotech, several later became clients
• A talent pool of bright young professionals, some of whom joined Cytel to enhance our ever-growing brainpower

The APAC Connect 2026 has a rich 2.5-day agenda that spans across keynote speeches, panel discussions, presentations, hands-on workshops, software demonstrations, a poster session, and a couple of networking events.

The bottomline

We at Cytel have an exemplary track record of bringing rigorous data science to the service of human health outcomes. That’s our raison d’être!

Together, let’s take that forward in 2026 and beyond!

Meet with us!

Will you be attending PHUSE APAC Connect in Hyderabad, India, this February? Stop by Booth 4 to get to know our experts and learn how Cytel is shaping the future of data‑driven drug development, or click below to book a meeting to discuss career opportunities at Cytel:

Share Via