JPM 2026 Recap: Signals Are Getting Clearer

/ EXPERT INSIGHTS

JPM 2026 Recap: Signals Are Getting Clearer

by Isaac Zike, PhD

Managing Director of RiverVest

Venture Partners

This year’s conference was familiar in tone, strengthened by substance

(February 10, 2026) – Niall O’Donnell and I joined thousands of global pharmaceutical and biotech leaders, innovators, and investors in San Francisco last month for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. While there are countless formal programs and presentations sponsored by J.P. Morgan and many other firms throughout the week, the greatest value of JPM is the density of conversations away from the Westin St. Francis. We spent our week reconnecting with long-standing strategic partners, meeting with our colleagues at other funds, and testing ideas in real time with peers across the ecosystem.

Optimism is often found at JPM, as the industry begins each year hopeful for strong performance ahead. This year, however, there was ample evidence to support that optimism. Public biotech stocks strengthened meaningfully in the second half of 2025, with the biotech indices outperforming the broader Nasdaq index. Follow-on financings have been robust, and a growing number of IPOs are poised to come to market.

Several themes stood out to us this year:

Policy clarity is enabling planning – and acquisitions

Drug pricing policy and U.S. manufacturing expectations were top of mind at JPM. While uncertainty remains, many large pharmaceutical companies now have sufficient visibility around issues such as product pricing, allowing them to move forward with greater confidence.

With clearer pricing assumptions in place, accompanied by a likely increase in market reach due to agreements with the administration, management teams at large pharma companies were enthusiastic about their future. They can budget more effectively while possibly even growing their top lines, supporting a more constructive environment for disciplined M&A focused on clinically validated assets with clear commercial pathways.

As we have routinely noted, near- to mid-term patent expirations remain a powerful structural force. Several large-cap pharmaceutical companies face significant revenue pressure over the coming years, reinforcing the need to replenish pipelines with assets that can fill their upcoming revenue gaps, specifically the types of products being developed at companies within our portfolio.

From hype cycle to proof cycle

The attitude across JPM was that today’s encouraging trends are more sustainable than the environment that characterized the frothiness of 2020-2022. It is clear that the bar is higher for companies to go public, which we believe is an indicator of a more rational market. There is a greater expectation that companies will need to have demonstrated strong clinical data with regular, value-justifying news flow in order to enter into and be treated favorably by the public markets.

Pragmatic access to public markets for biotech companies is an indicator of rationality in our space that we believe is necessary for a healthy innovation ecosystem. As companies are acquired by strategic buyers or go public, early-stage investors, such as RiverVest, are able to access capital to return to our LPs or to reinvest in novel opportunities. This flywheel of capital access and deployment has largely been lacking in the past few years, and we are heartened that we may be on the verge of a return to healthier market dynamics.

China as an operating model, not just a geography

China continues to feature prominently in global R&D strategies, not simply as a lower-cost alternative for pre-clinical development, but as a faster path to clinical signal. Several companies discussed using China for early proof-of-concept work before moving later-stage product development to the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, the number of licensing deals done in China has risen dramatically, accounting for approximately 40% of all industry deals in 2025. While China’s future role in the drug industry is evolving, it will undoubtedly remain a major source of innovation and early-stage product development.

AI is assumed; execution is differentiating

AI was everywhere—but rarely as a standalone story. Instead, it was embedded in discussions around discovery efficiency, clinical trial design, and development decision-making. The focus has moved from promise to impact where, specifically, utilization of AI may compress timelines or improve outcomes rather than simply augment the narrative.

Dealmaking is pragmatic, not exuberant

M&A activity has picked up, but structures reflect continued valuation discipline. Milestones, contingent value rights, and staged equity components were widely discussed as tools to align risk and reward. Buyers appear willing to transact when the science is strong, even as they remain selective on price and timing.

Focus is a feature

Single-asset and narrowly focused companies are being assessed positively. Recent M&A deals, in many cases, have been “bolt-on” deals. Startup companies developing clinical-stage products addressing specific unmet needs are in favor, particularly those that complement the existing portfolios of their strategic partners. Such products are perceived as being able to fill portfolio needs more quickly and efficiently, generating revenues more rapidly.

Conviction. Confidence. Discipline.

Notably, our qualitative observations while in San Francisco align with improving quantitative sentiment. The latest Endpoints News Biopharma Sentiment Index, released on January 28, reflects a continued recovery in confidence across the sector, consistent with what we heard in meetings throughout the week.

Importantly for RiverVest, these trends align well with our investment strategy of developing products that address areas of high unmet clinical need. We enter the year confident in our approach, enthusiastic about the progress unfolding across our portfolio, and encouraged by the return to discipline in the life sciences market.

About RiverVest

RiverVest Venture Partners is a leading venture capital firm building life science companies to address significant unmet needs of patients and deliver consistently strong returns to investors. With headquarters in St. Louis and offices in San Diego and Cleveland, RiverVest accesses forward-thinking research and clinical expertise at leading institutions across the country to found and fund biopharma and medical device companies.