ACCESS! 2026 Day 2 Recap: New Leadership, Hard Data, and a View from the Top
After a memorable first evening capped by a Candlelight by Fever performance that traded policy debates for strings and candlelight, ACCESS! 2026 attendees returned to the plenary hall Wednesday morning energized and ready for a second day packed with substance. If Day 1 set the table with political context and market challenges, Day 2 delivered the hard data, fresh leadership, and high-level government perspective to match.
A New Chair, A Familiar Mission
The morning opened with a milestone moment as Bob Hoffman, Chief Commercial Officer of U.S. Generics at Lupin Pharmaceuticals, was formally introduced as the new AAM Board Chair. Outgoing Chair Keren Haruvi praised Hoffman’s collaborative leadership and deep commitment to the generics mission before passing the gavel. In his inaugural remarks, Hoffman drew on a football metaphor to emphasize that winning requires mastering the fundamentals. He called on member companies to recommit to the principles that underpin the industry. Hoffman also stressed the importance of preserving the integrity of the Hatch-Waxman framework that makes generic competition possible.
Lifetime Achievement: Honoring Scott Cornwell, Dispensary of Hope
The conference paused to honor Scott Cornwell, CEO of Dispensary of Hope, with the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing a career devoted to advancing accessible medicines. The tribute underscored the deep bench of leadership that has guided the generics and biosimilars industry through decades of growth and challenge.
Biosimilars: Building on Momentum
A dedicated biosimilars panel picked up where Day 1 left off, diving deeper into the market dynamics shaping competition. Dr. Balaji Prasad, Chief Strategy Officer of Alvotech and Matt Erick, Chief Commercial Officer, Advance Markets, of Biocon Biologics, joined AAM’s SVP of Science and Regulatory Affairs, Giuseppe Randazzo, to highlight encouraging signs of biosimilar growth. But the discussion was clear-eyed about remaining barriers, including formulary access challenges and reimbursement structures that continue to tilt the playing field toward branded biologics.
Legislative Update: The Consolidated Appropriations Act
A session on the Consolidated Appropriations Act featuring Joseph Shields of Transparency-Rx and Matt Wetzel of Goodwin Procter and moderated by John Murphy gave attendees a detailed look at the legislative mechanics shaping the industry’s near-term future. The discussion explored how recent appropriations language intersects with drug pricing, FDA funding, and supply chain policy – areas where the details in the fine print can have outsized consequences for generic and biosimilar manufacturers.
IQVIA Market Data: The Numbers Behind the Narrative
Scott Biggs of IQVIA delivered the data-driven centerpiece of the day, presenting a comprehensive market overview that gave attendees the granular intelligence they need to plan ahead. The U.S. pharmaceutical market now exceeds $600 billion in annual spending, yet generics continue to account for the vast majority of prescriptions dispensed at a fraction of total cost. Biggs highlighted a generics market in transition: while top-line sales grew for several leading manufacturers, six of the top ten generic products by revenue saw year-over-year declines, reflecting persistent pricing headwinds.
On the biosimilar front, the data told a story of cautious optimism—ustekinumab biosimilars are eroding originator share at a pace well ahead of the adalimumab experience, and the development pipeline remains robust with 118 biologics facing patent expiries between 2025 and 2034. Biggs also flagged the continued shrinkage of the retail pharmacy landscape, with roughly 8,000 pharmacy closures since 2018 creating growing access deserts that disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.
A View from HHS
The day’s capstone was a fireside chat with senior HHS leadership. Robert Foster, Principal Deputy General Counsel for Food, Research, and Drugs at HHS, addressed questions from Bob Hoffman and Maryll Toufanian, SVP of Regulatory Strategy and Government Affairs at Amneal. Forster offered a rare window into the administration’s thinking on drug pricing, competition, and healthcare affordability. The conversation reinforced the sense that Washington is paying close attention to the generics and biosimilars story, and that the industry has an opening to shape the policy agenda, provided it continues to make the case with clarity and urgency.
Closing the Conference
As ACCESS! 2026 drew to a close, the through-line was unmistakable: the generics and biosimilars industry is operating in a moment of both challenge and opportunity, and the leaders gathered in Miami are not content to wait for the landscape to settle. With new board leadership in Bob Hoffman, hard market data from IQVIA, and engagement at the highest levels of government, AAM and its members leave the conference with a clear mandate, and the resolve to deliver on it.
