4 Key Moments from the JPM 2025 Healthcare Conference

Earlier this month, the annual J. P. Morgan 2025 Healthcare Conference took place in San Francisco. For the 43rd time, global industry leaders, investors, technologists and newly emerging companies came together for the world’s biggest healthcare investment symposium. 

Spanning three days, the conference acted as a platform to unveil the industry’s latest technologies, treatments and business models, including important announcements and medical breakthroughs.  

This year’s key themes included the use of AI in drug discovery, gene editing, personalized medicine, as well as promise of driving new growth and innovation within the industry. With moments of both optimism and uncertainty, let’s unpack four key takeaways you don’t want to have missed.  

From a digital health and biotech perspective, it appears that a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are thought to be on the horizon. In fact, several deals were tactically announced prior to and even during JPM25.  

According to a report by Labiotech, “Johnson & Johnson struck a deal worth $14.6 billion to buy neuroscience drugmaker Intra-Cellular Therapies, GSK agreed to acquire oncology drug developer IDRx in a $1.1 billion deal, and Eli Lilly made a $2.5 billion deal to buy Scorpion Therapeutics, another oncology company.” 

Advisory also reported, “Several companies, including Transcarent, H1, and Health Catalyst, strategically announced deals both before and during the conferences. Other companies, such as Talkspace and GE Healthcare, said they plan to look for more acquisition opportunities in the near future.” 

M&As are evidently off to a good start this year, with J&J’s deal acting as the largest biotech buyout since Pfizer acquired Seagan in 2023.  

It’s thought that, after these announced deals, biotech M&As will be set to exceed expectations this year after a slightly disappointing outcome in 2024. 

Talks about more cross-industry collaboration were another highlight of the J. P. Morgan conference – many of which related to digital health.  

Tech giant Nvidia announced their plans to partner with Mayo Clinic, Iqivia, Arc Institute and Illumina. Teladoc are also planning to join Amazon’s Health Benefits Connector.  

Advisory noted that more health systems are forming partnerships with technology companies to both propel clinical trials forward and further enhance AI-driven drug discovery.  

As we know, ‘household’ devices such as smart watches and rings (Oura, Apple watch) through to AI-led Radiology and Pathology are just some of the ways AI is beginning to influence drug development and personalized medicine. According to experts, it’s not long before this will be considered the ‘norm’. 

With 2025 potentially becoming the year of collaboration, the world of Life Sciences is becoming more multifaceted than ever before. It also means that organizations can hire more fluidly and flexibly due to the level of skills that will be developed cross-functionally. 

Another significant moment at the JPM25 conference was Former First Lady Jill Biden’s appearance. She spoke about the importance of continual research and development in regard to women’s health.  

While many brilliant organizations are doing meaningful work for women and girls alike (including Biomilq who are developing cell-cultured human milk, and HERA Biotech who are developing non-invasive ways to diagnose endometriosis) – much more needs to be done to achieve health equity and equality. 

Biden spoke about the importance of including more women in clinical trials to both improve data quality and account for the conditions that affect men and women differently. More research is also needed into the vast number of medical problems women face. 

The topic of gender was prevalent outside the conference, too. Fierce Biotech reported that outside, “members of the Biotech CEO Sisterhood urged allies to wear the color [pink] to underscore how few women continue to be represented in the throngs of blue suits at the conference”. 

Unsurprisingly, Trump’s return to office has led to several questions about how the Pharma and Life Sciences industries will be affected. For instance, there are new concerns relating to regulatory uncertainties, the potential impact on vaccine manufacturers and shifts in investment.  

Some expressed optimism about the new administration, but it was undeniable that many felt unsure about potential upcoming changes. According to Biopharma Dive, Pifezer’s CEO Albert Bourla “acknowledged the new administration could bring ‘radical change’ [...] that will come with both ‘risks and opportunities’”.  

Vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer and GSK are arguably more concerned with the risks, considering Trump’s recent appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – a known vaccine sceptic – as healthcare secretary.  

That being said, Pfizer remained optimistic about working with the Trump administration in other areas such as cancer development, with J&J hoping the same.  

J&J’s CEO reportedly said during the conference, “We have worked with 24 different presidential administrations, and we are willing to work with every presidential administration”. 

Final Thoughts 

To sum up, the 2025 J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference definitely set the tone for what to expect this year in the world of Life Sciences.  

From anticipating a positive year in terms of cross-industry collaboration and an increase in M&As, to reinforcing the importance of researching further into women’s health and the potential effects of Trump entering office, it’s safe to say that a mix of opportunities and challenges lie ahead.