Highlights from the OneWe Reach 9th Annual Conference
At the intersection of artificial intelligence and biology, a revolution is quietly reshaping the future of global health. During the “Unlocking TechBio: How AI is Redefining Market Strategy” session at the OneWe Reach 9th Annual Conference, panelists explored how this emerging field (known as TechBio) is accelerating discovery, reducing costs, and transforming how both startups and multinational corporations bring innovation to market.
Moderated by Ibraheem Alinur, Vice President at 2Flo Ventures, the conversation featured Tonya Edmonds, Digital Enablement and Integration Director at Johnson & Johnson; and Dr. Ishita Shah, CEO of Matrubials Inc. Together, they offered a rare look at how leaders are using AI to think and invest like venture capitalists, while redefining the boundaries between science and strategy.
1. The Rise of TechBio: Where AI Meets Biology
“TechBio” refers to the powerful convergence of artificial intelligence, biopharma, and computational biology – an evolution beyond traditional biotech. From AI-driven drug discovery to automated regulatory submissions, the field is enabling unprecedented speed and precision.
Panelists noted that AI adoption has skyrocketed, reaching mainstream use within three months, compared to two decades for earlier technologies like Microsoft Office. Tools such as Microsoft’s AI Copilot for hospitals and OpenAI’s partnerships with firms like Thermo Fisher and Eli Lilly underscore AI’s expanding role in healthcare’s most regulated environments.
“Those who learn to use AI now will have a clear advantage – both personally and professionally,” said Edmonds.
The message: proximity breeds fluency. By experimenting with AI tools at home, professionals can identify smarter, faster applications in their work long before their competitors do.
2. From Lab to Market: The Matrubials Story
Dr. Ishita Shah offered a compelling case study in how TechBio is transforming innovation pipelines – and who benefits from them.
Her company, Matrubials Inc., evolved from the University of California, Davis’ Milk BioActives program to address one of the world’s most common yet underfunded women’s health issues: bacterial vaginosis. Affecting over one billion women worldwide, the condition has a 70% recurrence rate due to outdated antibiotic treatments.
By using AI to mine thousands of peptides from human milk, Shah’s team identified novel therapeutic candidates with higher efficacy and fewer side effects. With $1.3 million in NIH and Gates Foundation funding and a successful pre-IND meeting with the FDA, Matrubials is now preparing for clinical trials.
“AI helped us find solutions nature already designed – it just allowed us to find them faster,” said Shah.
Her journey also illuminated another gap in the ecosystem: the underrepresentation of women founders in biotech and venture capital. For investors, this isn’t just an equity issue – it’s a market opportunity.
“Supporting diverse founders isn’t charity – it’s smart investing,” Alinur emphasized. “There are multibillion-dollar returns in the problems women-led companies are solving.”
3. AI in Action: Inside Johnson & Johnson
At Johnson & Johnson, Tonya Edmonds shared how AI isn’t just transforming research – it’s revolutionizing operations. Her team used AI to ingest years of master service agreements and contracts, creating a database that automates contract redlining and reduces dependency on outside legal counsel.
The results? Faster turnaround times, lower legal costs, and improved satisfaction across internal teams.
Edmonds described this as a “proof point” for how AI can deliver measurable ROI – not through flashy pilots, but by reengineering how people work. Next, her team plans to automate lower-value contracts entirely, freeing specialists to focus on higher-impact strategic work.
4. Navigating the AI Landscape: Tools, Security, and Trust
The session also dove into practical AI literacy – from prompt engineering to data security.
Panelists recommended:
- Meta-prompting – asking AI to generate optimized prompts for itself to improve output quality.
- Using research tools like Perplexity and Claude to verify sources and minimize hallucination.
- Turning off model training and enabling multi-factor authentication to protect sensitive data.
However, as AI-generated content proliferates, the panel also warned of emerging risks. Edmonds discussed the “Dead Internet Theory,” which predicts that the majority of online content will soon be AI-generated – complicating how researchers and regulators verify truth.
“Discernment is the new digital literacy. We must learn to question what we see, even when it looks credible.”
5. A Booming Market for Innovation
The panel closed with a look at the staggering scale of investment flowing into TechBio.
In 2025 alone, biopharma licensing deals surpassed $181 billion, with $17 billion in venture capital rounds, 20% of which were AI-related. Global investment giants like BlackRock, managing $13.4 trillion in assets, are already positioning around this next wave of innovation.
“The capital is there,” said Alinur. “What we need are informed, diverse founders – and bold investors – ready to shape the future of health.”
Looking Ahead: The Human Side of TechBio
The “Unlocking TechBio” session captured both the promise and responsibility of the AI era. From corporate transformation to scientific discovery, the future of TechBio will depend on how we balance innovation with integrity.
For OneWe Reach, that means championing collaboration between industry, academia, and investors to ensure technology expands – not limits – access to better health outcomes.
As Dr. Shah reflected…
“AI isn’t replacing scientists – it’s amplifying them. The challenge now is to make sure it amplifies the right voices.”
