The annualJPM Healthcare Conference held in early January sets the stage for the year oflife science deals. Unlike the pre-COVID days when San Francisco's streets were jam-packed and "entrepreneurial" locals tried to rent out a seat at Starbucks for $500/hr because there wasn't a seat in the house, this year felt smaller in numbers but those who attended were focused and ready for business. And unlike the previous two years, the mood was certainly positive.
The 4th quarter lead-up to the conference saw a flurry of deals in public biotech markets not seen in a few years (with Mintz participating in 29 of them) as well as large-ticket acquisitions, strategic licenses,and options to buy as big pharmas race to pump their pipelines to address upcoming patent cliffs. While there was a dearth of announcements of new deals during the conference, the pace of deals doesn't appear to be slowing down at the moment.
The private and VC investment landscape is still lagging behind. However, as IPOs and M&A unlock liquidity for investors and positive returns attract new investments into life sciences companies and venture capital funds, private investments in the sector will certainly pick up. Such is the cycle in this industry.
The subsectors receiving outsized attention are the cardiometabolic space (including anything GLP-1 related), radiopharmaceuticals, antibody drug conjugates and of course, AI drug discovery.
The CNS space is definitely back (despite the graveyard of failures) because the needs are so enormous and critical. With the oldest baby boomers now in their 80s and the youngest in their 60s, this renaissance is long overdue and pharma is ready to, and needs to, wade back into these treacherous waters. Stem cell and gene therapy is also making a comeback. As for AI drug discovery, yes, no one can afford to stay out of the game, but this year, we will begin to know what is possible now and what is still a hope and a dream to come.
The general feeling of the crowd was optimism tinged with the uncertainty given the macro elements on the world stage and uncertainty in Washington. My personal feeling is one of excitement with respect to all of the innovation as we plunge head first into what looks like a very active year.
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