BioPharm Executive

At the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the Biotech CEO Sisterhood assembled in Union Square to showcase the large group of women and allies in biopharma as their authentic selves.

Faced with the encroaching threats of patent expirations and generics, biopharma companies in 2024 invested 33% more in licensing deals, on average, than in 2023 with an eye toward enriching their pipelines with novel and potentially more effective therapies.

M&A was already on the upswing in 2024, and the new Trump administration may support that trend. But if data aren’t handled properly, acquisitions won’t reach their full potential.

Biogen’s effort to buy Sage against the board’s wishes and a long-time effort by investor Alcorn to scuttle Aurion’s IPO underscore the cutthroat nature of biopharma dealmaking.

The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference started off with a flurry of deals that reinvigorated excitement across the biopharma industry. Johnson & Johnson moved to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion, breaking a dealmaking barrier that kept Big Pharma’s 2024 biotech buyouts to under $5 billion.

After two years characterized by layoffs, pipeline reorganizations, FDA delays and clinical holds, Novavax CEO John Jacobs says the company is at a pivot point.

At J.P. Morgan, most biopharma executives expressed a neutral stance on the incoming administration, but just days later, President Trump issued multiple executive orders that concern the industry.

Five years ago, Gilead signed a massive deal with Galapagos. After a restructuring, the pharma is still hunting for the potential it saw at the original signing.

While investors and analysts push for a deal, Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher and Head of Development Priya Singhal refuse to make one out of desperation.

BioSpace recaps 2024’s top venture capital rounds in biopharma, from Xaira Therapeutics’ blockbuster $1B raise to back-to-back series from obesity-focused Metsera that totaled more than $500M in a space that has garnered more than a fivefold increase in VC dollars this year.