Securing Innovation Leadership in Life Sciences: 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting Side Event

On 2 June, Business at OECD successfully hosted a high-level side event at the 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, organised in coordination with France’s G7 Presidency. As part of our Stronger Together campaign, the event featured opening remarks by our Chair Charles (Rick) Johnston, alongside the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the OECD, Cyrille Pierre. This was followed by a high‑level panel discussion bringing together business leaders from Sanofi, UnitedHealth Group, Novartis, and others, as well as government and OECD representatives. Discussions underscored the strategic importance of life sciences for economic security and highlighted growing global competitive pressures. Through our two panels, speakers explored the evolving competitiveness landscape in life sciences and the policy tools to strengthen health resilience. Our business speakers called on the OECD to place health as an important pillar for competitive economies, strengthen innovation for health resilience, and steer towards pro-growth action through long-term investment. Our event marked a key contribution to OECD Ministerial Council Meeting discussions and our first G7 official side event, while helping shape future OECD work on both competitiveness and innovation-driven growth.