We were delighted that you took part in our hybrid breakfast event!
Date:
14 April 2026 from 09:30 to 11:00
Language:
English
Location:
St. Alban-Graben 3, Basel or remotely via Teams
Recording:
Agenda
09:15 - 09:30 a.m.
09:30 - 10:30 a.m.
10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
From 11:00 a.m.
Reception (for the participants on site)
Presentation
Q&A and discussion
Coffee, croissants and networking (for participants on site)
Abstract
The demand for AI-powered search on business documents is constantly growing in Pharma and other industries.
In a growing trend of commercial solutions monetizing Gen AI through software licenses, Ferring decided to launch an Enterprise Documents Search project and build a custom solution combining standard full text search and contextual Gen AI chatbot.
Our Speakers
Julien Marchand
Head of Research & CMC IT at Ferring
With 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he bridges the gap between complex science and digital innovation.
His career began as a Bioinformatician at Bayer and bioMérieux, fuelled by a dual background in Biochemistry and IT.
He has spent his career at the intersection of science and technology, most notably at Merck and Ferring, where he served as a Business Partner and Principal Business Analyst, digitalizing global processes across R&D, Clinical, and CMC.
Currently, as Head of Research & CMC IT at Ferring, he leads global cross-functional initiatives to build robust data platforms. A key milestone in his career was the introduction of the Sinequa Knowledge Search engine, which was successfully scaled to a full enterprise-wide rollout in 2020. He remains passionate about leveraging data to accelerate scientific discovery and operational excellence.
Giulio Vannini
Senior Lead, IT Transformation at Ferring
A senior professional with >30 years of experience delivering digital transformation programs across major global pharmaceutical environments: global CRM and digital workplace during his tenure at Serono and Merck Group, Cloud advisory at OSB and lately Ferring Pharmaceuticals, implementing enterprise data management, Infrastructure sourcing remediations until the recent Gen AI solution SINTRA.
With a background in software engineering, his continued professional development includes executive programs at IMD Business School and specialized certifications such as Agile delivery.
Giulio's is known as a "mission man". his work is recognized for consistently enabling organizations to adopt new digital capabilities, modernize operations, and advance data‑driven ways of working within highly regulated, global environments