The BioSpace team hit the ground running at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference earlier this month to bring you the news from the streets of San Francisco.
Editor’s Note: This deep dive was originally published January 28, 2025, as a special edition of Biopharm Executive. Subscribe to Biopharm Executive to receive market insights, deals, business stories and deep dives into key policy issues impacting biopharma.
A few key themes quickly emerged at the conference: China innovation, neuroscience, the return of early-stage science and, most prominently, a lack of major M&A to kick off the conference. That big buyout never materialized, forcing conference goers to think outside of the traditional success markers for the industry’s biggest meeting of the year.
Below, we recap our J.P. Morgan coverage.
It’s a good time to do vaccine BD and M&A.
Must Read
Sanofi’s CEO Keen To Buy the Dip as Vaccine Rhetoric Impacts Short-Term Sales
Buying vaccine biotech Dynavax was an easy choice for Sanofi despite anti-vaccine moves by the Trump administration.
At JPM26, Experts Try To Look Past the Most Favored Nation ‘Distraction’
Former European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan and former U.S. Senator Richard Burr, speaking on a panel at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, pushed to see a larger picture beyond the Trump administration’s year of chaos and confusion.
Beam, Cabaletta, More Zero In on Regulatory Alignment After Tumultuous Year
As biotechs faced investors at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference this week, they emphasized agreement with the FDA on clinical trial design and regulatory pathways to approval. Atara, meanwhile, lamented the agency’s “complete reversal of position” after its therapy for a rare surgical complication was rejected.
Verizon Outage Unites Directionless Conference Goers
It doesn’t matter how many times you have traversed Union Square; no one knows which way is north, or where The Westin is in relation to the Ritz Carlton. A Verizon outage brought that into focus on Wednesday of JPM week.
Obesity Front and Center
It’s no surprise that obesity proved to be a major topic at J.P. Morgan. But the conversation has shifted to how the next wave of treatments can differentiate and whether investors are still interested as prices for the therapies come down dramatically.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk were, of course, the most highly anticipated companies in the obesity game to speak at the Westin. BioSpace later met up with Novo’s BD team to talk more about where the Danish company is searching for deals after putting the failed attempt to buy Metsera in the rearview.
And of course, Pfizer spent its JPM presentation touting that Metsera deal and outlining plans to fast-track the highly prized pipeline of obesity therapies.
Over at Novartis, BD Chief Ronny Gal told BioSpace that they have no FOMO about not having a GLP-1 or weight loss portfolio.
Pretty in Pink
Filling C-Suites, Union Square—and Elevators—With Pink
Attendance at the Biotech CEO Sisterhood’s annual photo of women leaders and allies in Union Square doubled this year. There’s still more work to do.
JPM Company Profiles
- BMS’s Early-Stage Bets Are Happening Now, Amid Pharma’s Late-Stage Frenzy
- Protagonist Has a $400M Decision To Make. It’s a No-Brainer
- After a Tough 2025, Biohaven Is Gearing Up To Challenge Goliath—Lilly
- Gilead Captures Sunny JPM Mood With Yeztugo Numbers, HIV Vibes
- Galapagos’ New CEO Is Here To Finally Turn the Ship Around
- KalVista’s HAE Win Is a ‘Tale of Two Markets
- With Leqembi Launched, Biogen Looks To Expand Alzheimer’s Presence
- Korro Bio Looks To Save Itself Despite Unenviable Position
- AbbVie Seeks Respect for Oncology Pipeline Following RemeGen Buy
- Confident Merck Sees Growth Through Keytruda Loss of Exclusivity
- AstraZeneca’s Path to $80B by 2030 Paved With ADCs, Cell Therapies, Near-Term Launches
