Welcome to Day 2 of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2025 in San Francisco. Yesterday saw some high-value dealmaking, including one of the biggest acquisitions in recent JPM memory, when Johnson & Johnson snapped up neuro biopharma Intra-Cellular for a cool $14.6 billion.
On the clinical side, we saw GSK shell out just over $1 billion for gastrointestinal cancer specialists IDRx, while Eli Lilly, flush with its Mounjaro cash, paid $2.5 billion for Scorpion Therapeutics.
Check out Fierce Biotech’s conference’s kickoff coverage here for the full lowdown from Day 1.
We’re straight back into the action on Tuesday and on the lookout for more M&A, research deals and gossip from the floor. Check out all the the latest news below…
Tuesday 3:00 a.m. ET Jan. 14
When asked last night about the incoming Trump administration and potential nominee RFK Jr.—chair of the anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense—Vaxart’s Chief Medical Officer James Cummings, M.D., said: “It’s the box of chocolates thing; you don’t know what you’re going to get until it happens.”
Vaxart’s mission is to deliver vaccines against common viral infections, such as COVID-19 or the flu, in pill form.
“This is a partnership with the people out there, right?” Vaxart CMO Cummings continued. “Let’s give them good, solid data—clear data … Bottom line is, vaccines save lives. And there could be some bumps in the road, but I’m taking a very practical view of let’s see what it looks like as it evolves.”
As norovirus cases surge across the country, Vaxart continues to work on developing an oral vaccine for the sickness. And the biotech is betting big on the potential convenience an oral option holds. CEO Steve Lo compared it to the decision to get a coffee.
“I’m more likely to get a coffee at Starbucks if I can order it on my app and walk in and grab it, versus, okay, I walk in and there’s a long line,” Lo explained. “It’s the same thing with a vaccine. I’ve got to schedule an appointment. I’ve got to check in, have to wait, versus the convenience of getting the pill from your mail-order pharmacy.”
“My kids would probably call up Uber Eats and say, ‘Hey, I’d like my chocolate shake. A bottle of water. Oh, and maybe I’ll have that vaccine for COVID sent to me,’” Sean Tucker, Ph.D., Vaxart’s senior vice president and chief scientific officer, added.
