J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference - January 12th - 15th, San Francisco, CA

We wanted to share a quick update from day one of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the most influential annual event for healthcare investors. Each January, company executives use this conference to outline strategy, discuss pipelines, and frame expectations for the year ahead, making it an important barometer for sentiment and opportunity across the sector. The conference takes over a section of San Francisco, extending across multiple hotels where meetings occur in ballrooms, hotel lobbies, and throughout the surrounding streets.

Our team (Kennedy Capital) had a very full first day on the ground. Ryan Dunnegan, Anna Bunn, and Wilson Lin are attending in person, and together we held more than 20 one-on-one meetings with company management teams. These discussions included both current portfolio holdings and potential new investment ideas, making the conference an important springboard for identifying opportunities and shaping our research focus for the year ahead.

One interesting dynamic heading into the conference was a noticeable pickup in M&A speculation across the biotechnology space in the week leading up to JPM. While no large transactions were announced on the first day of the conference, discussions with management teams and industry participants made it clear that strategic appetite remains intact. Larger pharmaceutical companies continue to actively evaluate opportunities, particularly for assets with differentiated science, strong data, and clear development paths.