The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held in San Francisco, California from 12 January to 15 January 2026 saw a key investment theme centred on driving value through internal pipeline prioritisation and billion-dollar licensing agreements, rather than the typically expected large biopharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions (M&A) announcements.
Lower interest rates and Trump-era deregulation drove momentum in large biopharmaceutical M&As in 2025, with reduced uncertainty around the impact of Trump’s tariff policies in H2 2025 further strengthening capital markets. This has sustained a positive sentiment for M&As activity for 2026 as GlobalData’s recent M&A Trends in Pharma – Q4 2025 report revealed a 59.3% uptick in total M&A deal value in Q4 2025 compared to the Q3 2025, totaling $80.2bn. Furthermore, according to GlobalData’s recent Venture Capital Investment Trends In Pharma – Q4 2025 report, a recovery in biotech venture financing was shown with a 35% increase in Q4 2025 compared to Q3 2025 to a total deal value of $5bn.
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Moreover, the public markets are showing early signs of reopening, where Q4 2025 saw a 157% increase in IPO deal volume compared to Q4 2024, according to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Center Deals Database. Aktis Oncology was the first biopharmaceutical IPO completed in 2026 raising approximately $365m. Eikon Therapeutics and Veradermics also plan to go public in 2026 with IPOs announced this month.
Prior to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026, rumors emerged over Merck & Co to acquire Revolution Medicines for $32bn and Eli Lilly to acquire Abivax for €15bn ($17.5bn) although were not confirmed at the conference. Merck &Co’s CEO, Robert Davis, commented during its company presentation that it is open to deals of “multi tens of billions of dollars”, highlighting an appetite for large-scale biopharmaceutical deal-making.
AbbVie kicked off the conference with the announcement of its licensing agreement for the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of China-based biotech RemeGen’s Phase II bispecific antibody drug, RC148, for the treatment of advanced solid tumours with a deal value of $5.6bn. Meanwhile, Novartis signed a licensing agreement for worldwide licensing and collaboration with China-based company SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals worth over $1.6bn for SciNeuro’s de novo amyloid beta antibody drug candidates for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Novartis also entered into a worldwide license agreement for $50m with China-based biotech Zonsen PepLib Biotech, in exchange for global rights to an undisclosed peptide-based radioligand therapy for oncology indications.
China has the ability to conduct faster and more cost-effective clinical trials and hence a source for innovative drugs, particularly in oncology. This contributed to a growth in Western biopharmaceutical companies in-licensing innovative drugs from Chinese drug developers in the past five years. In 2025, licensing agreements involving US biopharmaceutical companies in-licensing an innovative drug from China reached almost 50%, according to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Center Deals Database, with this trend poised to continue into 2026. Industry experts at the conference expressed the need for the US to invest in R&D and foster a supportive policy environment for biopharmaceutical innovation to prevent losing its market dominance to China.
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By GlobalDataThe biopharmaceutical industry entered 2026 with renewed optimism for dealmaking, with industry players expressing a preference towards more selective deal-making during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026. However, capacity remains for large M&As as pharma companies seek to mitigate revenue losses from upcoming patent expiries, driving demand for companies de-risked, late-stage assets. High interest in drug development for oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, are expected to continue in 2026, in addition to modalities such as antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), radiopharmaceuticals and multi-specific antibodies.
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