The 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference kicked off in San Francisco with a bang, as Johnson & Johnson made the largest biotech M&A deal since late 2023 by acquiring Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion.
Eli Lilly and GSK also announced significant deals, with Eli Lilly buying Scorpion Therapeutics for up to $2.5 billion and GSK agreeing to acquire IDRx for a whopping $1 billion. The large transactions have sparked hopes that biotech-sector sentiment will start to shift positively.
However, the news wasn’t all good, as 11 major companies, including insurance giants Cigna and Centene, dropped out of presentations at the conference due to concerns over public appearances following Brian Thompson’s assassination last month.
Meanwhile, Moderna reported weaker-than-expected vaccine sales numbers for 2024 and slashed its forecast for 2025. The company is now burning through cash and may need to raise funds if it continues on this path.
Despite these challenges, Cytokinetics CEO Robert Blum assured investors that the company will not be sold, despite receiving over $1 billion in funding last year. Moderna’s stock plummeted nearly 17% after its earnings release, while Sarepta Therapeutics announced strong preliminary earnings with a record-breaking $1.8 billion in revenue.
As executives from major biotechs and health conglomerates descend on San Francisco for JPM Week, dealmaking is set to remain a hot topic.
Source: https://www.statnews.com/2025/01/13/jpm-news-day-1-top-stories-jnj-eli-lilly-moderna-readout-newsletter