A Milestone Moment: MAPS Celebrates Its Largest-Ever Meeting in Denver

1,550 Medical Affairs professionals. Ten years of growth. One shared mission.

Key Takeaways:

A record-breaking 1,550 attendees marked a milestone decade for MAPS and the Medical Affairs profession.

Dr. Susanna Gallani (Harvard Business School) and Dr. Steve Hahn (former FDA Commissioner, CEO of Nucleus RadioPharma) delivered keynotes on performance, leadership, and patient access.

Sessions, panels, and MasterClasses equipped professionals at every career stage with actionable strategies.

Denver proved once again that the strength of MAPS is the community behind it.

Next stop: EMEA Annual Meeting in Zurich, May 17–19.

When the Medical Affairs Professional Society convened in Denver from March 22–25 for its 2026 Americas Annual Meeting, the numbers told a powerful story, but so did the energy inside every packed session room, across the filled exhibit hall, and throughout every reception and engaging conversation in between.

With 1,550 attendees, MAPS set a new attendance record for its annual meeting, the largest gathering in the organization’s ten-year history and a testament to the Medical Affairs profession’s expanding strategic influence across the industry.

What began a decade ago as a community built by and for Medical Affairs professionals has evolved into a trusted and respected global force.

Denver was definitely the proof point.

Keynotes That Set the Tone

The meeting featured two keynote speakers whose perspectives bridged science, leadership, and the future of healthcare.

Dr. Susanna Gallani, the Tai Family Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, brought a research-driven lens to one of the profession’s most pressing questions: how organizations design systems that truly motivate performance and drive meaningful outcomes.

A leading voice on incentive design, performance management, and healthcare delivery, Dr. Gallani’s work at the intersection of economics, management, and health systems offered Medical Affairs leaders a fresh framework for thinking about how their teams create value, not just clinically, but strategically. Her message resonated deeply with an audience that increasingly finds itself at the center of organizational decision-making: the systems we build to measure and reward performance shape the behaviors that ultimately reach patients.

Dr. Steve Hahn, CEO of Nucleus RadioPharma and the 24th Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, delivered a keynote grounded in decades of leadership across oncology, regulation, and innovation. From his tenure leading the FDA through one of the most consequential periods in modern regulatory history, to his role as Chief Medical Executive at MD Anderson Cancer Center, to his current mission to expand patient access to precision radiopharmaceutical therapies, Dr. Hahn offered a rare vantage point on how the industry can move faster, and more equitably, to bring transformative treatments to patients.

His perspective on breaking down the logistical barriers that stand between scientific breakthroughs and the people who need them challenged every Medical Affairs professional in the room to think bigger about their role in the ecosystem.

Together, these two keynotes framed the meeting’s central theme: Medical Affairs is no longer a supporting function, but a strategic leader in science, in business, and in the pursuit of better patient outcomes.

Learning Built for Every Stage of a Career

Across four days, attendees engaged with a comprehensive program spanning sessions, panels, meetings, workshops, and specialized MasterClasses in Field Medical, Insights, Launch Excellence, Leadership, and Medical Technology.

Every session was anchored in the MAPS Medical Affairs Competency Framework, ensuring that the knowledge shared was not only timely but directly aligned with the skills professionals need to advance their careers and strengthen their organizations.

From evidence generation and digital transformation to stakeholder engagement, real-world evidence, and regulatory excellence, the program reflected the full breadth of the Medical Affairs mandate.

Hands-on workshops gave attendees practical strategies they could bring back to their teams on Monday morning, while thought-provoking panels pushed the profession’s thinking forward on topics ranging from AI-enabled medical communications to the evolving role of Medical Affairs in launch excellence and health equity.

A Community That Shows Up for Each Other

Beyond the sessions, Denver was a reminder that the strength of MAPS lies with its members.

With structured networking events complementing the informal connections made over coffee, in exhibit halls, and between sessions, the meeting created space for collaboration at every level from early-career professionals attending their first MAPS event to seasoned CMOs shaping the Strategic Leadership Council.

For a profession that thrives on scientific exchange and cross-functional partnership, those human connections are the meeting’s most enduring output. The conversations started in Denver will shape strategies, spark collaborations, and strengthen teams for the year ahead.

Ten Years In. Just Getting Started.

Setting a record of 1,550 attendees is a milestone worth celebrating. But it means even more when you consider the trajectory.

A decade ago, MAPS set out to elevate a profession that was often underrecognized, providing the standards, training, and community that Medical Affairs professionals needed to realize their full strategic potential. Denver showed just how far that mission has come, and how far it can still go.

To every attendee, speaker, sponsor, exhibitor, volunteer, and team member who made the 2026 Americas Annual Meeting what it was: thank you. You are the reason MAPS exists, and you are the reason this community continues to grow.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2026 EMEA Annual Meeting in Zurich, May 17–19, as we carry this momentum forward. Register today!

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Additional Resources:

Join MAPS Today!

Members gain access to a comprehensive suite of resources including professional development courses, the MAPS Knowledge Center (featuring standards, guidance documents, position papers, white papers, and benchmark reports), webinars and podcasts, career resources, mentorship opportunities, chapter networking events, and discounted registration for MAPS meetings and MasterClass programs. Join MAPS today! 

Volunteer Community 

By joining MAPS’ Volunteer Community, you will play a crucial role in creating resources that empower professionals at all levels of Medical Affairs. Additionally, you have the option to be included in our WorkStream Directory for time-sensitive or task-specific opportunities. Contact Shiree Edwards, Director of Volunteer Strategy & Operations.

MasterClass Onsite Programs

MAPS MasterClass Onsite programs bring immersive, scenario-based training directly to your team — on your schedule, at your location, or virtually. Designed at intermediate to advanced levels, each program is tailored to strengthen the strategic competencies your Medical Affairs organization needs most. Choose from half-day, full-day, or two-day formats, and work with MAPS to customize content, case studies, and learning objectives to your team’s priorities. Programs are available in External Education, Field Medical, Insights, Integrated Medical Communications, Launch Excellence, Leadership, and Medical Technology.

Keynotes That Set the Tone

Learning Built for Every Stage of a Career

A Community That Shows Up for Each Other

Ten Years In. Just Getting Started.

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