Global Health Congress 2026 Draws 625+ Leaders From 25 Countries to New York, Names Venture Forum Winners and Announces National and International Expansion

Second annual Congress at the Yale Club of New York City unites health system CEOs, physicians, technologists and investors; Healthcare Shark Tank led by Robert Herjavec fields 360+ startup applications from 35+ countries; regional chapters to launch coast to coast and in India, the United Kingdom and the Middle East and advances year-round programming

NEW YORK, Nov. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The second annual Global Health Congress (GHC) concluded at the Yale Club of New York City with more than 625 healthcare leaders from 25+ countries, 125+ speakers and representatives from 350+ organizations, cementing its position as one of the fastest-growing convenings at the intersection of clinical medicine, technology, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and capital.

Held October 9-11, the Congress brought together 150+ C-suite executives, 150+ physicians and 100+ founders under the 2026 theme, "From Access to Impact: Equity, Capital, and the Next Era of Care." Across three days, participants explored investment opportunities, potential clinical pilots and strategic partnerships, while GHF outlined plans to expand its year-round programming across the United States and internationally.

Presented by Global Health Forum (GHF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Congress is intentionally curated with no expo hall and no pay-to-play booth model. Health system CEOs, chief medical officers, chief AI and digital officers, health plan leaders, medical school deans, investors and policymakers share the same room for three days of practical discussion, relationship-building and execution.

"Healthcare has extraordinary innovation, but innovation, capital and clinical delivery too often live in separate ecosystems," said Dr. Achintya Moulick, MD, MBA, Founder of Global Health Congress and Global Health Forum. "New York proved that when you put all three in one room, things happen. Founders connected with investors. Health-system leaders explored new partnerships. And innovation across policy, research, and clinical aspects all began. Now we are taking that model to every region where clinicians, founders and investors are ready to build together."

Leaders From Medicine, Technology and Finance Share One Stage

The 2026 program featured senior leaders across medicine, technology, public policy and investment, including:

• C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Group Chief Executive, Barclays
• Robert Herjavec, entrepreneur, cybersecurity leader and longtime Shark Tank investor (keynote speaker)
• Dr. David Rhew, Global Chief Medical Officer and VP of Health and Life Sciences, Microsoft
• Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals
• Secretary Deborah Moorad, Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce
• Shashank Samant, Executive Chairman, Hitachi High-Tech America
• Gajen Kandiah, CEO, Rackspace Technology
• Nikhil Lalwani, CEO of ANI Pharmaceuticals
• Dr. Luis Taveras, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, Jefferson Health
• Todd Hirsch, Head of Private Capital at Point 72
• Vince Papale, Philadelphia Eagles legend and international motivational speaker
  

Sessions spanned six tracks: cellular and molecular medicine, intelligence and clinical AI, cardiovascular innovation and prevention, global health and equity, systems and policy, and capital and innovation. The physician is the core audience member, and as was the case last year, the Congress was CME accredited.

Healthcare Shark Tank and Global Venture Forum Deliver Capital to Founders

The centerpiece of the Congress was the Healthcare Shark Tank and Global Venture Forum, presented by Global Health Ventures (GHV). The competition drew 350+ startup applications from more than 35 countries. Fifteen finalists were selected to pitch live in New York before a panel of investors, operators and physician experts who evaluated commercialization, scalability, clinical relevance and scientific validity.

The 2026 Venture Forum winners were.

• Stabilis Medical. Wearable neuromuscular stimulation devices, both a full-body suit and a wrist cuff, backed by an AI platform, designed to improve movement and reduce tremors for people with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremors.
• Florence. The first AI agents built for disability care, creating a single profile of each patient that connects families with their providers and automates the paperwork and care navigation workflows.
• Wink. Targeted RNA therapeutics, that regenerate and protect insulin-producing beta cells, with the goal of curing the 150 million people who depend on insulin.
• Braiv. BRAIV: An AI precision psychiatry platform that pulls together a patient’s medication history and past treatment outcomes

Saturday's judging panel included Robert Herjavec, Secretary Deborah Moorad, Gajen Kandiah, Todd Hirsch and Shashank Samant. Sunday's panel included Sava Kobilarov, Anshul Debuka, Kamal Singh and a variety of physician experts provided their clinical input on the innovation over both days.

Unlike a traditional pitch competition, the Venture Forum connects founders to the year-round GHC and GHV ecosystem, giving emerging companies ongoing access to health system executives, clinicians, investors and strategic partners after the event concludes.

"Capital is not the only challenge for healthcare founders. Healthcare is a highly regulated market and getting access to decision makers – both at independently owned clinics or at large hospital systems has always been challenging," said Gautam Bazaz, CEO of Global Health Forum and Co-Chair of Global Health Ventures. "The Venture Forum puts founders in front of the decisionmakers who can pilot, purchase and scale their solutions. Last mile adoption is the specific gap we are closing."

A Message of Resilience from the Field to the Hospital

Vince Papale, whose improbable journey from South Philadelphia schoolteacher to Philadelphia Eagles special teams captain inspired the film Invincible, addressed the Congress on the discipline, resilience and teamwork that connect elite athletics and frontline medicine.

"Nobody gave me a shot, and I made the team anyway, because I refused to believe the people who said it could not be done," said Vince Papale. "That is exactly what I saw in New York. Doctors, founders and investors who are told every day that healthcare is too complicated to fix, and who show up anyway. These are the underdogs who are going to win, and I am proud to stand with them as this movement grows across the country."

GHC Announces Regional Chapters Coast to Coast and Expansion to India, the UK and the Middle East

Building on the momentum of New York, Global Health Forum announced a national and international expansion strategy centered on regional chapters that will bring the GHC model of education, innovation, advocacy and venture funding to healthcare communities from coast to coast.

Each regional chapter will operate on four pillars:

1. Education: Programming connecting clinicians with emerging science, clinical AI and care delivery models.
2. Innovation: Regional Innovation Labs showcasing companies addressing local clinical, operational and access challenges.
3. Advocacy: Convening health system leaders, policymakers and payers to advance health equity and practical policy solutions.
4. Venture capital funding: Regional Shark Tank and Venture Forum events feeding top-tier startups into Global Health Ventures and the national finals in New York.

Following expansion activity in Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area, the organization is actively building regional relationships across the United States. Internationally, GHF is establishing a presence in India, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. The India Chapter will be convened by Meghdut Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Techno India Group and Chief Innovation Officer of Techno India University, alongside Sandeep Sinha, Managing Partner at Lumis.

"India should not simply be viewed as a market where Western healthcare innovation is deployed," Dr. Moulick said. "Some of the world's most important healthcare solutions over the next decade can come from India, and from every region where clinical talent, engineering and entrepreneurship converge. Regional chapters are how we find those solutions and bring them to the world."

"Every session at the Congress is designed to move from conversation to action," said Dr. Nikki Bajaj, Executive Director of Global Health Forum. "The chapter model lets us do that in communities that have never had a platform like this, and it builds a pipeline of talent, companies and partnerships back to the global stage."

The organization's long-term objective is a global network in which clinical need identifies problems, innovation creates solutions, capital enables scale and healthcare organizations deliver those solutions to patients. Planning is underway for an expanded Global Health Congress 2027.

"Our ambition is not measured by attendance," Dr. Moulick said. "The measure of success is what happens after people leave the room: the companies funded, partnerships formed, technologies implemented and patients ultimately impacted."

Leadership

• Founder: Dr. Achintya Moulick, MD, MBA, cardiothoracic surgeon, healthcare CEO, former CEO of CarePoint Health and founder of Global Health Forum
• Trustees: Sanat Chattopadhyay, Executive Vice President and President, MSD Manufacturing Division, Merck & Co.; Dr. Samin Sharma, Director of Interventional Cardiology, Mount Sinai Health System
• CEO: Gautam Bazaz, CEO of Global Health Forum and Co-Chair of Global Health Ventures
• Executive Director: Dr. Nikki Bajaj, hematologist-oncologist
• Conveners: Dr. Sumul Raval, neurologist and neuro-oncologist; Jeffrey Corless, President and CEO, Venture Strategic
  

About Global Health Congress

The Global Health Congress is the flagship event of Global Health Forum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and a multidisciplinary healthcare platform connecting leaders across medicine, healthcare delivery, technology, life sciences, finance, investment, entrepreneurship and public policy. Together with Global Health Ventures, GHF operates a year-round ecosystem that accelerates collaboration across medicine, innovation and capital. The second annual U.S. Global Health Congress was held October 9-11, 2026, at the Yale Club of New York City. Learn more at globalhealthcongress.com.

Media Contact
Jeffrey Corless, Convener and Spokesperson
jeff@venturestrategic.com
(714) 676-8878

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/68d07f7a-4295-49bb-8042-c6193bc98312