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The 41st J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is taking place in San Francisco this week, and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) has been helping attendees meet potential partners.
This prestigious conference, known as JPM week, brings together a range of health care experts from global corporations, up-and-coming fast-growing companies, new technology innovators, and members of the investment community. The event traditionally includes major health care deals, and after limited dealmaking during the past few years, the 2023 JPM is off to a roaring start, notes Biopharma Dive. A few deals to note:
- BIO member Chiesi Farmaceutici will acquire rare disease specialist Amryt Pharma for $1.25 billion.
- AstraZeneca is buying CinCor Pharma, a hypertension and kidney disease specialist, for $1.3 billion.
- Ipsen will pay $952 million to acquire Albireo, accelerating growth in rare disease research with treatments for several pediatric liver diseases.
Next wave of innovation is around the corner
Biopharma Dive explains that these three announcements are important because they “suggest, an uptick in M&A activity that began in the second half of last year could stick around.”
“The next wave of innovation is right around the corner,” according to BIO member Vertex Pharmaceuticals CEO Reshma Kewalramani, per Fierce Pharma.
As one example, Moderna announced a flurry of mRNA advances. As Bio.News previously reported, Moderna is working on a new mRNA-based flu vaccine with better adaptability and speed thanks to numerous candidates in phase 3 trials. The company’s other recent development is a potential cancer vaccine. Moderna reported in December that patients receiving their mRNA-based melanoma vaccine had a 44% decreased risk of cancer recurrence or death, when taken in conjunction with Merck’s Keytruda.
BIO platform driving partnerships
BIO brought its cutting-edge BIO One-on-One Partnering platform to JPM Week, providing the possibility for companies to share profiles and find matches for deals. The partners can meet in person in the dedicated BIO meeting space, which has been packed, or online.
The BIO One-on-One Partnering platform will next be pressed into service for the BIO CEO & Investor Conference. Taking place in New York City from Feb. 6-9, this is another major deal-making event.
