Eli Lilly, Amazon announce deals at JPMorgan conference

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Good afternoon from San Francisco! This week, Ashley and I are attending the annual JPMorgan Health Care Conference – the most important gathering of biotech and pharma execs, investors and analysts within the U.S.

The conference is a pulse for what to anticipate from the health-care industry in 2025. Executives from corporations large and small highlighted their key business and drug pipeline updates, but in addition weighed in on the Trump administration’s potential impact on the sector and the outlook for the M&A and IPO markets. 

Notably, the conference appears to have beefed up security across the primary venue – the Westin St. Francis Hotel – this yr in light of the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance arm, in Recent York City in December. Cluster of cops look like stationed in the world surrounding the hotel and metal barriers line the entrances of the venue, that are flanked by several private security guards checking badges of attendees. 

Meanwhile, a bunch of protesters waited outside the venue, clutching signs that slam the insurance industry, which has faced an eruption of pent-up anger and frustration from the general public for the reason that killing. 

As usual, the conference kicked off with a number of deals, including one in all the most important deals we have seen since late 2023. 

Here’s a fast recap of what I’ve seen within the biotech and pharma space to this point: 

• Johnson & Johnson stole the show when it announced Monday it would buy Intra-Cellular Therapies, the maker of a blockbuster drug for schizophrenia and depression, for $14.6 billion. Most, if not all, of the deals within the biotech and pharma space in 2024 didn’t surpass $5 billion, and J&J’s acquisition appeared to spice up the sentiment for M&A in the brand new yr, especially under a possible deal-friendly Trump administration. 

• Eli Lilly said Monday it will acquire an experimental cancer program from startup Scorpion Therapeutics in a deal value as much as $2.5 billion, because the pharmaceutical giant broadens its oncology pipeline. The corporate will acquire Scorpion’s experimental oral therapy, STX-478, which is currently being tested in early-stage trials for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors.

• GSK on Monday also announced a $1 billion deal to accumulate one other privately held cancer drug developer, IDRx. The agreement gives GSK an experimental treatment for a rare gastrointestinal cancer

• Moderna on Monday lowered its 2025 sales guidance by roughly $1 billion as a result of a number of potential headwinds later this yr, including increased competition within the Covid vaccine market, because the biotech company continues to slash costs.

• Eli Lilly on Tuesday cut its revenue guidance because it said demand for its weight reduction and diabetes drugs wouldn’t meet its high expectations. 

Be happy to send any suggestions, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.

Hello from San Francisco! I’m reporting on the bottom on the JPMorgan Health Care Conference where it is a balmy 50 degrees, a welcome change for this Recent Yorker.  

There’s already been a blitz of announcements here. Perhaps unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence and the blockbuster weight reduction drugs often called GLP-1s are the talk of the town. 

Here’s every little thing you have to know to this point:

• Amazon Web Services and General Catalyst announced a recent partnership on Monday that goals to hurry up the event and deployment of health-care AI tools. General Catalyst’s portfolio corporations, starting with Aidoc and Commure, will use AWS to construct recent solutions for health systems more quickly. Read CNBC’s coverage here.

• Waystar announced a recent generative AI feature that goals to assist hospitals quickly fight insurance denials by robotically drafting appeal letters. Health systems spend nearly $20 billion a yr attempting to overturn denied claims, so Waystar believes its recent tool will help cut these costs. Read CNBC’s coverage here.

• Nvidia announced partnerships with several health-care organizations including the clinical research provider IQVIA, the neurotech startup Synchron, the genomics company Illumina and the educational medical center Mayo Clinic. Partnerships are a key pillar of Nvidia’s health-care business, which generates over $1 billion in revenue annually, Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vp of health care, told CNBC in an interview. 

• Dexcom released preliminary, unaudited results for its fourth quarter on Monday, a couple of month ahead of schedule. The corporate reported revenue of at the very least $1.11 billion, up 8% from the identical period last yr. For 2025, Dexcom said it expects to report total revenue of $4.60 billion, a 14% increase over the expected 2024 total. The outcomes caused Dexcom shares to leap greater than 6% in premarket trading on Monday, suggesting they were a welcome sign for investors after a pair rocky quarters.

• Abridge on Tuesday announced Mayo Clinic will roll out its AI-powered clinical documentation technology to around 2,000 clinicians across your entire enterprise. The corporate has made similar enterprise-wide announcements with Duke Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine in recent weeks.

• Teladoc Health on Monday announced Amazon is adding the corporate to its Health Advantages Connector, which helps customers determine if their insurance plan or employer advantages cover a digital health program. Teladoc’s chronic condition offerings equivalent to its diabetes, hypertension, pre-diabetes and weight management programs will probably be surfaced through Health Advantages Connector to eligible users.

It’s only Tuesday, which suggests there’s still more to come back. Make sure to sustain with our coverage throughout the week!

Be happy to send any suggestions, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.

The boom in GLP-1 demand is boosting employer-oriented diabetes and nutrition counseling businesses like Virta Health and Omada Health. Large employers are increasingly requiring staff who start high-cost diabetes and weight reduction drugs to join programs which help them learn find out how to maintain their weight reduction once they stop using GLP-1s.

One trend to look at: once they utilize nutrition programs, sometimes employers get lower rebates on the treatments from pharmacy profit managers and manufacturers, in accordance with the Purchaser Business Group on Health.  

Be happy to send any suggestions, suggestions, story ideas and data to Bertha at bertha.coombs@nbcuni.com.