The Lantern Summit

The Lantern Summit is an invitation-only biotech, pharma, clinical research and AIxBio conference in happening in Shanghai on 26–27 October 2026. It brings together biotech leaders from China, Europe and the United States. Lantern Capital runs it. Lantern Capital is a fund that helps global deep-tech and biotech founders work in Asia, led by co-founders Mia Deng and Gokhan Er. The summit’s tagline is “Accelerating Medicine Beyond Borders,” and its goal is to connect the Chinese and Western biotech worlds to speed up drug discovery and patient access.

What’s on the agenda: The program covers six themes:

• Cross-border deal structures (NewCo, co-development, licensing)
• Running clinical trials in China and whether global regulators accept the data
• Regulation and data rules, such as China’s Order 818
• Chinese big pharma as buyers and investors
• Chinese science going global (ADCs, cell therapy, AI drug discovery)
• How Western teams can set up in China

Day 1 also has sessions on longevity, “TechBio” (AI and automated labs) and brain-computer interfaces.

Speakers: They include executives from Hengrui, XtalPi, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, SoftBank and Jones Day, plus founders from both regions.

The dealmaking: The event is built around making deals between European/American and Chinese suppliers. Before the summit, attendees fill in a survey saying what they need. Local partners then set up 1:1 meetings with CROs, manufacturers, hospitals, investors and industrial parks. These happen in a dedicated “Deal Room.” On Day 2, ten early-stage companies pitch on the main stage, picked by a committee of VCs. Applications to pitch close 15 October.

Schedule: There’s a welcome evening on 25 October. On 28 October there’s an optional $300 field trip to Suzhou BioBAY, with a visit to a classical garden.

Pricing:

• Founders: $1,500 early bird, then $2,200
• VCs, pharma and service providers: $3,500 early bird, then $4,500

Early-bird pricing ends 27 September, four days from now.