Unicorns, AI, and the future of health: Highlights from HLTH Europe 2025

The second annual HLTH Europe conference brought together health leaders, start-ups, investors, and developers from across the globe for a mid-year pulse check on where healthcare innovation stands today – and where it’s headed next. Amid economic uncertainty and shifting regulatory priorities, pharma, health tech, and care delivery are all racing to prove value and scale innovation. In this special extended episode of the pharmaphorum podcast, Deep Dive editor Eloise McLennan sat down with editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock for a candid debrief on the key themes, hot topics, and hallway conversations that shaped the event in Amsterdam. From the rise of GLP-1s and the push for true patient-centricity, to the potential (and pitfalls) of AI and the routes to funding bold new ideas, they unpack what’s hype, what’s real, and what still needs funding to take flight. Plus, exclusive interviews from the show floor: Benedikt von Thüngen, founder and CEO of Sanome, on how AI is helping the NHS predict the risk of hospital-acquired infections Fiona Costello from Brain+, on making cognitive stimulation therapy for dementia more accessible, scalable, and effective Nick Ross, co-founder of Invest in Equity, on why the future of life sciences investment must be built on gender equality You can listen to this episode, as well as previous episodes of the pharmaphorum podcast, in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series - on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.