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AbbVie and Novartis strike billion-dollar pacts while attendees at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference await that one big M&A deal and Merck teases limitless buying capacity; Eli Lilly readies for potential orforglipron launch while Novo Nordisk laments compounders; the IPO window cracks open; and the FDA concludes that GLP-1s do not pose a suicide risk.
Speaking to BioSpace at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Novartis’ chief dealmaker Ronny Gal explains why the Swiss pharma hasn’t acquired a GLP-1, and why it probably won’t.
There hasn’t been a headline-stealing deal at J.P. Morgan yet. Nevertheless, the mood is positive amid green shoots and a flurry of dealmaking to end 2025.
Merck CEO Rob Davis expressed high confidence during the company’s J.P. Morgan presentation on Monday, revealing that the company is open to deals in the range of “multi tens of billions of dollars.”
Facing the loss of exclusivity on key products, Pfizer has pulled forward its lead obesity asset into Phase III and targeted a 2028 launch. CEO Albert Bourla explained the pharma’s strategy at J.P. Morgan on Monday.
Obesity took center stage on the first day of the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, with industry frontrunners Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk providing supply chain, regulatory and pricing updates.
Former European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan and former US 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.
Mature biopharma deals are stealing all the headlines, but Bristol Myers Squibb’s Robert Plenge says the company’s deals with insitro, Orbital and more are building the future.
After years stuck in the “doldrums,” the biopharma sector is in a “very good place” heading into the new year, analysts told BioSpace, with both rare and chronic diseases headlining investor and R&D interest as JPM26 kicks off.
Pharmas will need to provide their latest stance on the Most Favored Nation drug pricing plans, while biotech finally gets a break after a few tough years.