JPM25 is in full swing as several pharma powerhouses—including Merck, Lilly and Amgen—detail their strategies for growth in the coming year.
After an explosive opening marked by a suite of multi-billion-dollar deals, the 2025 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference frenzy has calmed down—but only slightly. The second day of the conference saw several big pharma players plot their strategic roadmaps, looking back and learning from their stumbles in 2024 and scoping out avenues of growth for the year ahead.
Merck Looks to Diversify Pipeline as it Braces for Keytruda Cliff
With more than 40 approved indications, Keytruda—a blockbuster PD-1 inhibitor that has now become a cornerstone in cancer therapy—is Merck’s top-selling asset. In the first nine months of 2024, the asset brought in more than $21.6 billion for the pharma. But with key patent protections set to expire starting in 2028, Merck is now working to beef up its pipeline to absorb an expected drop in Keytruda sales as biosimilar competitors enter the market, according to reporting from PharmaVoice.
In an investor note, BMO Capital Markets analysts said that Merck’s long-term guidance—$25 billion for cancer and more than $5 billion each for its immunology and HIV portfolios by the mid-2030s—“suggests greater expansion of oncology business” and reflects the company’s optimism around its other units. Merck is also working on a subcutaneous formulation of Keytruda, which “could help lengthen the tail” of its erosion, according to the BMO note.
Roche Eyes Judicious Use of $10B M&A Budget
Every year, Roche sets aside around $10 billion for potential M&A deals, but CEO Teresa Graham revealed at JPM25 that the pharma is selective in how and whether it spends this money, Fierce Biotech reported on Tuesday.
This fiscal control was in full display last year, Richard Vosser, analyst at J.P. Morgan, pointed out during the Q&A session of Roche’s presentation, according to Fierce. Some of the pharma’s recent deals include its $900 million partnership with COUR Pharmaceuticals last month and potential $1.8 billion contract with Flare Therapeutics in November 2024. Most prominent is Roche’s $1.5 billion acquisition of Poseida Therapeutics, also in November.
Still, Graham maintained that the pharma has the capacity—and willingness—to make big-ticket acquisitions “if and when we find transformative assets that are either complementary to our portfolio” or “change the game in important diseases.”
Amgen Doubles Down on MariTide Despite Flat Phase II Data
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Amgen officials defended the Phase II readout for its closely watched obesity asset MariTide.
“I think MariTide will differentiate itself not only on the profile—that we are a different product than the weeklies, which seem to be more similar to each other than not—but also in the investment that we’re putting behind it,” Susan Sweeney, head of obesity and related conditions, said, according to BioPharma Dive.
The company in September 2024 announced that it will push through with a late-stage program for MariTide, testing the bispecific GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist not only in obesity, but also in heart, kidney and liver diseases.
A few months later, however, MariTide’s Phase II data largely disappointed investors, sending the pharma’s shares dropping 11% in the aftermath. The mid-stage results showed that MariTide elicited an average weight loss of up to 20% at 52 weeks, which was on the lower end of the range that stockholders were expecting.
At JPM25, Sweeney reiterated the pharma’s commitment to MariTide, confirming that it will initiate a broad Phase III program for the candidate in obesity and related conditions, with an eye toward securing insurance coverage, BioPharma Dive reported.
Biogen Hits Lowest Stock Price Since 2013 as Leqembi Uptake Lags
Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher at JPM25 said that the pharma remains fully committed to the Alzheimer’s disease space and its therapeutic antibody Leqembi (lecanemab), according to a BMO Capital Markets note on Tuesday.
That’s despite what the BMO analyst called “struggles” with the Alzheimer’s market, including barriers to reimbursement and the need to educate providers about appropriate treatment. Leqembi’s roll-out has been slow, with Eisai—Biogen’s development and commercialization partner—in November 2024 lowering its full fiscal year guidance.
Biogen stock was trading at $142.42 on Tuesday, its lowest since February 2013, according to SeekingAlpha.
“Business development continues to be needed,” the BMO analysts noted. In its own investor note, Jefferies agreed, while pointing out that Biogen appears to have slowed down this development. “They will do deals and are looking at many things - but relative urgency has actually declined slightly versus 6+ [months] ago,” the Jefferies analyst wrote.
Lilly Crashes on Zepound, Mounjaro Q4 Miss
Like Biogen, Eli Lilly saw negative stock movement on Tuesday, in its case after reporting a disappointing sales preview for its blockbuster weight-loss therapy tirzepatide.
In the fourth quarter, Lilly’s Zepbound, indicated for chronic weight management, brought in $1.9 billion, while its sister brand Mounjaro, approved for type 2 diabetes, earned $3.5 billion. Overall, Lilly recorded $13.5 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, falling slightly below the analyst consensus of $13.9 billion.
In a statement, CEO David Ricks pointed to its “lower-than-expected channel inventory at year-end” as the reason for its Q4 miss, alongside its previous guidance that had overestimated the acceleration of the U.S. incretin market. In a Tuesday note, BMO Capital Markets analysts remained optimistic about Lilly’s prospects in the coming year, noting that while the tirzepatide roll-out remains “constrained,” demand remains “robust” in the U.S.
