Abbvie Inc. and Simcere Zaiming Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. are part of the volley of large deals accompanying the opening of the 43rd annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. The two have agreed to develop SIM-0500, a humanized GPRC5D-BCMA-CD3 trispecific antibody, which is in phase I studies in the U.S. and China to treat refractory multiple myeloma.
Joining the dealmaking spree to kick off the 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Eli Lilly and Co. announced it was picking up an early clinical-stage PI3Kα inhibitor program from Scorpion Therapeutics Inc. in a deal that could be worth up to $2.5 billion, while GSK plc is adding to its cancer pipeline with the acquisition of Idrx Inc. for $1 billion up front.
The J.P. Morgan (JPM) Healthcare Conference in San Francisco kicked off with a resounding bang as Johnson & Johnson (J&J) disclosed plans to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. for $132 per share, which equates to an equity value of about $14.6 billion.
Analysts from the hosting firm talked up their takeaways on biopharma from the J.P. Morgan (JPM) Healthcare Conference and looked ahead to 2024, anticipating a generally better year than those in the recent past.
Setting the tone for the biopharma industry as it enters a new year, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) held each January has once again led to reflections, projections and earnest hopes for improving financial and M&A markets. Despite concerns over valuations, raising money and pricing issues, industry leaders are generally upbeat as the industry moves into 2024. JPM’s Sophie Jones, managing director of health care investment banking, noted in a Jan. 18 webinar sponsored by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization that the conference included more than 700 companies. “It’s morphing now into really the kickoff into everybody’s year.”
Major contract research development and manufacturing organizations (CDMO) out of Asia are announcing plans to ramp up production and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) capabilities worldwide.
Merck & Co. Inc. CEO Robert Davis said the pneumococcal vaccines (PCVs) space is “an area where there is still a high unmet need, and what we have is a new vaccine specifically targeted to the adult population that addresses 83% of the residual disease. That's about 30% higher than anyone else that's out there.” Speaking Jan. 9 at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM), Davis predicted that his firm “will take a majority share” of the market if approved. The Merck candidate, V-116, bears a PDUFA date with the U.S. FDA of June 17.
“This is a tough business. It’s never a straight line from start to success.” Those words, from Exelixis Inc. CEO Michael Morrissey, during a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM), could easily sum up any aspect of the biopharma industry. But with more biopharma firms than ever having reached commercial status, along with the introduction of new therapeutic modalities into the health care market, many are finding the toughest part comes after regulatory approval, whether it’s navigating a competitive landscape, getting payers and physicians on board, or satisfying regulators’ stringent postmarketing requirements. As industry players and observers head home after a busy week in San Francisco, BioWorld offers a brief glimpse at a few firms taking on those post-approval challenges in 2024.
The U.S. FDA is promising to make 2024 a “breakout” 12 months for gene therapies, with a number of initiatives to promote clinical development, approvals and uptake. “This is a great year to focus on gene therapy,” said Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA. “I just want to focus on moving ahead gene therapy,” he told attendees of the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 8.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. took to the stage this week at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to talk up its pipeline, including the phase III program testing XEN-1101 in focal-onset seizures (FOS), due to complete enrollment in the second half of this year. It’s an indication where such other players as Biohaven Ltd. are busy, too. Several million adults are afflicted with FOS in the U.S., with close to a half-million pediatric patients.
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