Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2026 -- Last month, Dreamix joined over 1,200 pharma, technology, and healthcare leaders at Reuters Events: Pharma 2026 in Barcelona (22-24 April). One of Europe's largest cross-functional pharmaceutical gatherings, the event brought candid, sometimes uncomfortable conversations to the surface.
Todor Bonov and Hari Ayrapetyan attended on behalf of Dreamix, covering sessions across the event's four streams: Customer Engagement, Launch and Value, Digital Patient Experience, and Data Infrastructure.
AI Was Everywhere, but the Conversation Has Matured
AI was a central theme across nearly every session in Barcelona. It was encouraging to find out that the conversation has moved well past hype. Leaders were openly discussing what's working, what's not, and where the gaps are.
Many pharmaceutical organisations have already invested heavily in AI, but adoption rates are lower than expected and investment alone hasn't translated into impact, yet.
AI was the central theme, but the emphasis was on using it correctly, not just using it,"
said Hari Ayrapetyan, Business Development Manager at Dreamix. "Many organisations have implemented AI, but they're applying it to maintain business as usual rather than driving real outcomes."
What’s more, AI tools are now mostly deployed as standalone systems that sit alongside existing platforms. That adds complexity for teams already managing multiple tools in their daily work.
AI agents were also a hot topic, though understanding of the concept varied widely, with many attendees still working through what agentic AI means in practice.
The metaphor I kept hearing was that data is like oil – hugely valuable, but you have to invest effort to extract it,"
said Todor Bonev, Partnerships Manager at Dreamix. "The goal everyone is working toward is one unified data pipeline that ends in a data lake AI can actually use. That's where the real work is."
What Stood Out
- Data infrastructure is getting serious investment. The challenges are scale and fragmentation - pharma data flows from clinical trials, real-world evidence, adverse event reports arriving decades after a drug hits the market, all in different formats and systems. Across sessions, the industry showed clear alignment on the need to consolidate these sources into a single, AI-ready foundation. Progress is underway, though the execution challenges remain significant.
- Change management is moving to the foreground. Leaders are increasingly focused on how to introduce AI without disrupting the processes people already rely on. Whether it's an R&D scientist processing a constant stream of new research or a pharma rep preparing for a specialist meeting, AI can add measurable value, but only when it fits naturally into existing workflows. Defining and measuring that value is still a work in progress for most organisations.
- Geopolitical dynamics are adding new complexity. Getting a drug approved in Europe takes significantly longer than in the US or China. As a result, R&D investment is gradually shifting away from the continent. On the pricing side, the US administration's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) policy now requires pharma companies to offer American prices no higher than their lowest European negotiated price. Meanwhile, regulatory fragmentation means the same drug can be accessible in one country and unavailable next door. In other words, the industry needs greater alignment to close these gaps and get medicines to more patients.
Where Dreamix Comes In
"Big pharma prefers buying off-the-shelf over building custom software," Bonov noted. "But data pipelines, DevOps, and maintaining complex data infrastructure always stay internal. Organisations spend real money on that work, and that's exactly where we add value."
Dreamix brings hands-on expertise in data engineering, AI integration, and custom software development to the life sciences sector, helping organisations bridge the distance between AI investment and practical, measurable results.
About Dreamix
Dreamix is a custom software development company and part of the Synechron group, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The company builds tailored technology solutions across aviation, fintech, and life sciences, from data infrastructure and AI to enterprise applications.
