J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026: Recap and What to Watch

A More Constructive Environment for Dealmaking

Conversations at JPM 2026 made clear that dealmaking is on the upswing. The optimism anticipated after JPM25 has largely materialized, with the fourth quarter of 2025 being particularly active, but not in the form of splashy, headline‑grabbing megamergers. Instead, strategics and financial sponsors are actively pursuing smaller, targeted acquisitions, licensing arrangements, and portfolio‑shaping transactions. Large biopharma players continue to feel pressure from patent cliffs and growth gaps, while stabilized interest rates and a more predictable financing environment are helping to unlock transactions that stalled in prior years.

Financing costs have moderated, deal structures are more flexible, and buyer‑seller valuation expectations have narrowed. While antitrust scrutiny remains part of the analysis, particularly in health care, it is influencing deal structuring rather than standing as a complete barrier to transactions. As a result, many analysts expect M&A activity to accelerate later in 2026 as clinical milestones are achieved.

Is Fundraising Back?

Capital markets sentiment at JPM 2026 was notably improved, though access remains stratified. Later‑stage life sciences companies with validated human data, experienced management teams, and near‑term catalysts are increasingly able to tap both private and public markets. The conference highlighted growing comfort with larger, later‑stage venture rounds, structured financings, and selective IPOs, often supported by crossover investors. At the same time, royalty monetization and other alternative financing structures are being used to bridge companies to clinical or commercial inflection points.

Early‑stage companies are once again drawing attention, but the bar for investment is considerably higher than in the past. Investors are focused less on platform narratives and more on tangible clinical proof, with many Series A financings now backing programs that are already well on their way toward advanced development.

Evolving Investment Focus Areas

Investment themes in 2026 are familiar but increasingly refined. Cardiometabolic disease and personal health remain central areas of focus, with particular attention on obesity and related indications. However, the conversation has moved well beyond injectable GLP‑1s to oral agents, maintenance therapies, combination approaches, durability of response, muscle preservation, and long‑term access strategies. Central nervous system and neurodegenerative diseases also regained meaningful attention at JPM 2026, driven by renewed confidence following recent clinical data and advances in disease biology. Women’s health, a long-ignored category, is finally getting its day in the sun as an investable category.

Oncology continues to attract strong interest, particularly in radiopharmaceuticals, precision approaches, antibody‑drug conjugates, and cell‑directed therapies. Immunology and inflammation also remain areas of focus, as do cell and gene therapies, though enthusiasm in those areas is now tempered by increased scrutiny around reimbursement, manufacturing scalability, delivery logistics, and commercial viability.

Artificial Intelligence Moves From Promise to Proof

Artificial intelligence continued to dominate discussions, but the conversation has clearly matured. While prior conferences focused heavily on AI’s potential, JPM 2026 emphasized measurable impact and return on investment. Across life sciences and health technology, companies highlighted real‑world applications of AI in drug discovery, clinical trial design, diagnostics, operational efficiency, and revenue cycle management.

Notably, AI is now viewed as infrastructure rather than a differentiator in and of itself. Investors and strategic partners are increasingly asking how models are trained, what data is used, who owns that data, and how outputs are validated in regulated environments. Partnerships between life sciences companies and large technology players underscored the growing importance of computing power, proprietary datasets, and scalable platforms in translating AI from concept to clinic.

Data Ownership as a Strategic Asset

As AI adoption accelerates and multiparty collaborations become more common, data ownership and control emerged as a central theme throughout the conference. Companies are increasingly focused on who owns clinical and real‑world data, how it can be used to train proprietary AI systems, and what rights survive the termination of collaborations. These questions are becoming core drivers of value and negotiation complexity in research collaborations, licensing agreements, and joint development arrangements.

Expect continued growth in the sophistication of data‑sharing provisions in 2026, with heightened attention to cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, downstream commercialization rights, and competitive use restrictions.

Continued Focus on China

Chinese biopharma innovation remains an important part of the global life sciences ecosystem, and JPM 2026 reflected continued interest in cross‑border licensing and collaboration, particularly in oncology and neuroscience. At the same time, geopolitical tensions and regulatory scrutiny continue to influence transaction structuring.

Industry participants are continuing to monitor legislative and regulatory efforts that could impact these relationships. As in prior years, U.S. companies will need to differentiate sharply to compete with rapidly maturing innovation emerging from China.

Regulatory and Policy Uncertainty Under the Trump Administration

Uncertainty around health care policy remains a consistent backdrop as the Trump administration enters another year in office. Key areas of focus include ongoing efforts of drug pricing reform (such as Most Favored Nation, or MFN, pricing), the future implementation of Medicare drug price negotiations, tariffs, government funding of research, and ongoing scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers. While President Trump has continued to emphasize prescription drug pricing as a political priority, the ultimate scope and impact of these efforts remain unclear, particularly with the Administration’s sights set on the big health care insurers right now. Continued personnel changes at the FDA, CDC, and NIH, and their impact are worth watching as the year progresses.

Health Technology Remains in the Spotlight

Health technology again featured prominently at JPM 2026, particularly solutions that demonstrate real operational impact. Investors remain focused on technologies that improve provider efficiency, support clinical decision‑making, and integrate seamlessly into existing workflows. Telehealth and hybrid care models continue to evolve, with a growing emphasis on utilization, margin improvement, and sustainability, rather than expansion for its own sake.

As with life sciences, AI plays a central role in health tech, but expectations are higher. Companies must show how their tools improve outcomes, reduce costs, and scale responsibly in highly regulated environments.

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