At the JPMorgan Pharma Event, the health-care industry’s annual confab this week in San Francisco, talk is likely to be more focused on what’s going on 3,000 miles away — at Mar-a-Lago.
There, at his Florida club, President-elect Donald Trump is preparing for a second White House term that industry executives expect will usher in a new era. They’re hoping for a break from the Biden Administration’s tough antitrust enforcement, and that a laxer regime will embolden pharma companies to pursue splashier deals.
The JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is often where big and small drug companies present priorities for the year and lay the groundwork for future deals. This year, security is expected to be tighter than usual at the event, which will be held just weeks after the killing of UnitedHealth Group insurance chief Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan.
JPMorgan Chase & Co is working with the venue, the Westin St. Francis, the city of San Francisco and its police department to increase security for the 8,000 expected attendees. San Francisco’s police department has also canceled all time off for its officers during the conference, with police set to be stationed at the hotel and other event locations in the city.
The four-day-long convention, often just called “JPM” among regulars, is the health-care industry’s Super Bowl, with official attendees — and thousands more who descend on the city to make connections — racing around a packed schedule of meetings. Who they meet, and what they discuss, can set the tone for the year ahead. Pharma giants including Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson will present alongside a roster of startups and even AI chipmaker Nvidia Corp.
Topics that will be discussed include the future of President Joe Biden’s signature drug-pricing legislation. Companies had previously never dealt with a US government intervention in pricing.
And there’s the ever-present question of how top Trump health pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who has accused drug companies of corruption and “mass poisoning” and expressed views critical of vaccines — might influence policy.
So far, the Trump administration has revealed little about its health-care plans, leaving investors struggling to figure out where to focus. Attendees will also be gaming out what Trump’s nominee to lead the Food & Drug Administration, Marty Makary, will mean for drug approvals and regulation.
Despite all the open questions, most people agree on one thing: Deals are poised to grow.
Dealmakers are predicting a pickup in biopharma deals after activity slowed as companies digested big bets made in 2023.
The value of deals in the health-care sector fell to the lowest level in a decade last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and it’s been more than a year since there was a biotech acquisition for more than $5 billion.
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