Welcome to Day 2 of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2024 in San Francisco. Yesterday "Merger Monday" lived up to its name with deals for Novartis, J&J and Merck, and today, we’re also starting Tuesday with an early deal. Check out that deal and all the updates from JPM below.
Want more? Fierce Biotech’s conference's kickoff Day 1 is available here, and Fierce Pharma’s can be found here.
Tuesday 6:43 p.m. ET Jan. 9
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, speaking to the slow and steady progress that brought tirzepitide to the world, says the Indianapolis pharma is now ready to open up the chocolate factory.
“I know a number of biotechs are in the room at this conference so it's worth mentioning: we're open for business on external innovation,” Ricks said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Tuesday. Story
Tuesday 6:10 p.m. ET Jan. 9
SR One CEO and managing partner Simeon George, M.D., said the firm was eyeing some investments in psychedelic-focused biotechs but is waiting on formally financing one to see how the space matures. He specifically pointed to the rollout of J&J's Spravato, an esketamine spray used to treat major depression. The treatment is currently one of J&J's fastest-growing products and is a pillar in the company's neuroscience portfolio.
"We've been watching, obviously, how that has gone in terms of the launch and again, that product looks like it's starting to be on a nice ramp there," George said in an interview with Fierce Biotech on Tuesday. "My sense is there's going to be more than a couple of companies that will be interesting to look at from a fundraising perspective."
George said there are probably "one or two" companies on the firm's shortlist, though he wouldn't specify which.
Tuesday 3:45 p.m. ET Jan. 9
"We're seeing companies make investments in traditional pharma assets that are a little further along in the development pipeline," Sharon Flanagan, managing partner for global law firm Sidley's San Francisco office, told Fierce Biotech on the conference sidelines.
"ADCs (antibody drug conjugates) are really interesting," she continued, citing Johnson & Johnson's $2 billion acquisition of ADC-focused Ambrx Biopharma. "So that's a way to do something that's still pharma, but with something novel and interesting, that has a spin to it. I do think in markets that are a little uncertain, sometimes the more truly novel types of products might get less interest."
Tuesday 9:45 a.m. ET Jan. 9
Blueprint Medicines is pulling back from a core focus area, cutting two non-small lung cancer programs after getting a peak of early data. It was just a year ago that CEO Kate Haviland touted the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors as the company's path to first-line treatment. The biotech says it will explore possible out-licensing deals to find a home for BLU-945 and BLU-451. Story
Tuesday 3 a.m. ET Jan. 9
GSK is getting in on the M&A action as it snaps up respiratory biotech Aiolos Bio for $1 billion upfront and $400 million in biobucks. The deal sees GSK nab Aiolos’ leading asset AIO-001, a phase 2-ready mAb, with plans for the drug to also treat chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. Story.