The obesity market and Most Favored Nation drug pricing were among the topics de jour at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference last week, while smaller biotechs sought to assure investors that their regulatory ducks are in a row; Novo Nordisk’s oral obesity pill got off to a hot start while the FDA delayed a decision on Eli Lilly’s investigational offering; and SpyGlass Pharma and AgomAb Therapeutics join the 2026 IPO club.
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The 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference concluded last week without a big M&A deal. But the meeting was anything but boring, with President Donald Trump’s Most Favored Nation drug pricing scheme and the perpetual battle for supremacy in the obesity space between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk prime topics of conversation. Meanwhile, other companies like Biohaven refuse to cede the entire weight loss market, stating their intention to carve out a piece of the massive pie.
On the competitive front, Novo took a step forward Monday with the news that its Wegovy pill reached nearly 3,100 patients since its launch on Jan. 5. Meanwhile, an FDA decision for Lilly’s own oral offering, orforglipron, has been delayed from March 28 to April 10. Orforglipron is being reviewed under the FDA’s new Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) program, which aims to shorten the review period from 10–12 months to 1–2 months. Other voucher recipients—including Sanofi and Disc Medicine—have also had their decisions delayed.
While the FDA wasn’t a primary focus at JPM, several biotechs sought to make clear during their investor presentations that they had secured alignment with the regulator on trial design or pathways to approval. This comes after a year that has seen many of their peers experience regulatory whiplash as previous FDA guidance was seemingly reversed.
And on the business front, IPOs are back! This week, SpyGlass Pharma and AgomAb Therapeutics joined Veradermics and Eikon Therapeutics on the rapidly accelerating IPO train. Aktis Oncology, which announced its bid in late 2025, debuted on the Nasdaq earlier this month.
And in BioPharm Executive this week, Annalee Armstrong and Dan Samorodnitsky catch up with execs from Novo Nordisk, Korro Bio, Biohaven and Galapagos.
