Women Making an Impact

In recognition of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science ^1.2 on February 11, PharmTech spoke with several women working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors about their careers; the current state of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; and the future of healthcare. Common themes found in these interviews were the unique perspective women bring to the pharma industry and the need to address the “confidence gap” and gender imbalance in leadership to sustain the progress in areas such as rare medicine.

How is innovation advancing patient care?

A primary focus across the interviews was the evolution of treatment models. Dr. Jennifer Levin Carter, founder and CEO of Medzown, discussed the shift from generalized care to precision medicine, which utilizes biology to design drugs for specific diseases at specific times.³ This approach has advanced oncology treatments through genetics and genomics and is now being applied to rare and neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Michelle Longmire,CEO and co-founder of Medable, advocated for the “digitome,” a digital representation of a patient that enables “precision prescription” by selecting the best therapy based on individual biological differences.⁴

In the field of oncology, Dr. Stacy Lindborg, president and CEO of IMUNON, highlighted the development of DNA-mediated immunotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer.⁵ Her company’s TheraPlas platform aims to turn “cold” tumors “hot” by secreting cancer-fighting proteins directly into the tumor microenvironment.

This focus on unmet medical needs was echoed by Dr. Maria de Miguel, director, Clinical Research for START Rioja, who emphasized that early-phase drug development requires scientific rigor blended with a patient-centered perspective, particularly when data are limited.⁶

What is AI’s role in pharma?

The use of AI by pharmaceutical companies and regulators is expanding. Beena Wood,chief product officer, Qinecsa Solutions, outlined a vision for AI-driven pharmacovigilance that can detect safety signals across global datasets in hours rather than months.⁷ However, she warned that this requires “boring foundations”—the standardization and harmonization of fragmented data.

Dr. Longmire talked about how agentic AI may be utilized to solve inefficiencies in clinical trials, where 80–90% of processes remain manual.⁴ By automating tactical data collection, Longmire says, AI allows professionals to focus on strategic work, such as optimizing trial enrollment.

Katy MacLellan, Technical Team leader, Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services Ltd., also noted AI's potential to streamline drug discovery, potentially reducing the decade-long timeline for bringing drugs to market.⁸

“Drug discovery is typically a long process spanning a decade or more; however, with advancements in AI to streamline this pathway, assist in improving lead target identification and the potential for safer drugs evaluating existing data, this may reduce critical timelines to bringing a drug to clinic,” MacLellan said.

What are some of the challenges for women in STEM?

Despite the industry's growth, several experts point to stagnating representation. Dr. Elisabeth Gardiner, chief scientific officer at Tevard Biosciences, noted that while women make up nearly half of the workforce in the United States, they occupy only 35% of STEM jobs and just 20–30% of STEM roles within the pharmaceutical industry.⁹ Furthermore, Dr. de Miguel pointed out that while women are well-represented in the broader biomedical workforce, they hold only 20–30% of leadership roles.⁶

Dr. Gardiner spoke about a “confidence paradox”: while interest in STEM is rising, the self-reported confidence of girls in their scientific abilities has dropped from 70% to 60% over the past decade. To combat this, both Gardiner and MacLellan⁸ emphasize the need for early, hands-on exposure to science in schools to demystify complex concepts like coding and math.

Leadership and the power of mentorship

The interviewees often credited mentorship as a catalyst for their success. MacLellan shared how seeing women in leadership roles at Eli Lilly made her own career goals feel realistic. Dr. Lindborg advocated for a “servant leadership” style grounded in humility and empowering a team of “brilliant people”. According to the experts, the diverse perspectives, empathetic leadership, and cutting-edge science are key to overcoming the industry's most complex challenges.

More to come

Be sure to check PharmTech.com throughout February for more insights from women working in the bio/pharma industry.

References

1. UN. International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February. UN.org. https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day
2. February 11. Women and Girls in Science. https://www.womeninscienceday.org/
3. Haigney, S. Personalized Medicine Vs. Precision Medicine. PharmTech.com. Jan. 9, 2026. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/personalized-medicine-vs-precision-medicine
4. Haigney, S. The Transformative Potential of AI to Enhance Patient Treatment. PharmTech.com. Jan. 13, 2026. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/the-transformative-potential-of-ai-to-enhance-patient-treatment
5. Haigney, S. Women Leading Biotech: Advancing Treatments for Ovarian Cancer. PharmTech.com. Feb. 3, 2026. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/women-leading-biotech-advancing-treatments-for-ovarian-cancer
6. Haigney, S. Women in STEM: Early Phase Drug Development. PharmTech.com. Feb. 6, 2026. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/women-in-stem-early-phase-drug-development
7. Cole, C. Why Data, Trust, and Skills Are the Foundations of AI-Driven Pharmacovigilance. PharmTech.com. Jan. 9, 2026. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/why-data-trust-and-skills-are-the-foundations-of-ai-driven-pharmacoviginlance
8. Haigney, S. Women in STEM: Inspiration from Innovators in Pharma. PharmTech.com. Feb. 2, 2026. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/women-in-stem-inspiration-from-innovators-in-pharma
9. Haigney, S. Women in STEM: Cultivating Scientific Confidence. PharmTech.com. Feb. 4, 2026. https://www.pharmtech.com/view/women-in-stem-cultivating-scientific-confidence