What to expect from pharma at the JPM conference

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I will be attending the annual meeting next week JPMorgan Healthcare Conference — The largest gathering of biotech and pharmaceutical executives, investors and analysts in the United States

The conference often sets the tone for the coming year and will offer an early pulse on what the healthcare industry could look like in 2026. Executives from companies large and small are expected to deliver major business and pharmaceutical pipeline updates, announce splashy merger and acquisition deals, and offer their more than a year’s worth of reads on industry sentiment regarding Trump 2.0.

This backdrop looks different than what many in the industry feared at the start of 2025. Many major drugmakers finished the year with groundbreaking drug pricing deals with President Donald Trump and the postponement of planned industry-specific tariffs. As a result, drug pricing and other policies may not dominate executive discussions with investors for the first time in years.

Wall Street will likely focus on the pharmaceutical industry’s other problem: A Approximately $300 billion patent gap at the end of the decade. Blockbuster drugs such as blood thinner Eliquis from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer and Merck’s best-selling cancer immunotherapy Keytruda will face competition from cheaper rivals in the coming years, and companies are racing to offset those declines in revenue.

For example, Bristol Myers Squibb It’s the company with the highest risk of an upcoming exclusivity loss cycle, according to a note by JPMorgan analysts in late December. But the company has few data this year that would provide clarity on its ability to grow beyond 2028.

Investors are likely to have questions about Bristol Myers Squibb’s upcoming Alzheimer’s psychosis trials, called the Adept program, for Cobenfy, a prescription drug approved in late 2024 for the treatment of people with schizophrenia. JPMorgan analysts see a “reasonable likelihood of success” for these studies.

For MerckKeytruda’s loss of exclusivity is looking increasingly easier to manage. In September, a more convenient subcutaneous form of the drug received US approval (Keytruda is traditionally administered intravenously). This new form is expected to retain approximately 20% to 30% of Merck’s U.S. Keytruda sales.

All eyes will be on Merck’s 2026 drug pipeline updates. This could include initial results from a phase three trial of Cidara Therapeutics’ anti-flu product, which the company acquired in November.

Merck may have other deals in store: FT on Thursday reported He said that the pharmaceutical company is in talks to acquire cancer drug manufacturer Revolution Medicines, which has a market value of over $20 billion.

Obesity will also continue to be a hot topic during the conference. Novo Nordisk And Eli Lilly GLP-1 pills are launching or preparing to launch them, and other drugmakers are racing to catch up.

I’m awaiting additional details from Novo Nordisk about the launch of the Wegovy pill, which begins reaching patients this week, and what the company plans to focus on next. Eli Lilly will also touch upon what to expect from its own oral GLP-1 called orforgliprone, which will likely receive Food and Drug Administration approval in the first half of the year.

Both companies will likely face questions about evolving GLP-1 market dynamics, including the direct-to-consumer channel and Medicare coverage for obesity drugs starting mid-year.

Names like amgen, AstraZeneca And PfizerThe company, which recently acquired obesity biotech Metsera, will also face questions about its ambitions in the weight-loss drug market.

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