Latest Health-Care Deals: Eli Lilly and Amazon

Latest Health-Care Deals: Eli Lilly and Amazon
Latest Health-Care Deals: Eli Lilly and Amazon

The original sentence: "A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions." Rewritten sentence: "This article was initially published in CNBC's Healthy Returns newsletter, providing you with the latest health-care news directly to your inbox. To receive future editions, subscribe here."

Greetings from San Francisco! This week, Ashley and I are attending the annual JPMorgan Health Care Conference, which is the largest gathering of biotech and pharma executives, investors, and analysts in the U.S.

The conference served as a barometer for the future of the health-care industry in 2025. Industry leaders from various companies discussed their key business and drug pipeline developments, while also weighing in on the potential influence of the Trump administration on the sector and the prospects for the M&A and IPO markets.

The conference has increased security measures around the Westin St. Francis Hotel, the main venue, following the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance arm, in December in New York City. A group of police officers are stationed near the hotel, and metal barriers line the entrances, with private security guards checking attendees' badges.

Since the killing, the public has been expressing their anger and frustration towards the insurance industry, which has been criticized by a group of protesters outside the venue, holding signs that condemn the industry.

The conference commenced with several transactions, including one of the largest since the end of 2023.

I have briefly reviewed the biotech and pharma industry thus far.

  • Intra-Cellular Therapies, the maker of a blockbuster drug for schizophrenia and depression, was bought by J&J for $14.6 billion on Monday, stealing the show in the biotech and pharma space in 2024. Most deals in this space did not exceed $5 billion, and J&J's acquisition was seen as a boost to M&A sentiment, especially under a likely deal-friendly Trump administration.
  • Monday, it was announced that the pharmaceutical giant would acquire an experimental cancer program from startup Scorpion Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $2.5 billion, as the company expands its oncology pipeline. The acquisition includes Scorpion's experimental oral therapy, STX-478, which is currently being tested in early-stage trials for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors.
  • GSK announced a $1 billion deal to acquire another privately held cancer drug developer, IDRx, on Monday. The agreement includes an experimental treatment for a rare gastrointestinal cancer.
  • The biotech company lowered its 2025 sales guidance by roughly $1 billion on Monday due to potential headwinds, including increased competition in the Covid vaccine market and ongoing cost-cutting efforts.
  • On Tuesday, the company cut its revenue guidance because it anticipated that demand for its weight loss and diabetes drugs would not meet its expectations.

Rewritten sentence: Please provide any tips, suggestions, story ideas, and data to Annika at [email protected].

Latest in health-care tech

Greetings from San Francisco! I'm reporting live from the JPMorgan Health Care Conference, where the temperature is a pleasant 50 degrees, a welcome relief for a New Yorker.

The current buzz in town is about artificial intelligence and the popular weight loss medications known as GLP-1s.

Here's everything you need to know so far:

  • On Monday, Web Services and General Catalyst announced a partnership aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of health-care AI tools. General Catalyst's portfolio companies, including Aidoc and Commure, will leverage AWS to create new solutions for health systems more rapidly. Check out CNBC's coverage for more details.
  • Waystar announced a new AI feature that aims to assist hospitals in quickly overturning insurance denials by automatically drafting appeal letters. Health systems spend nearly $20 billion annually attempting to reverse denied claims, so Waystar believes its new tool can help reduce these expenses. Check out CNBC's coverage here.
  • Nvidia has announced partnerships with several health-care organizations, including IQVIA, Synchron, Illumina, and Mayo Clinic. These partnerships are a crucial component of Nvidia's health-care business, which generates over $1 billion in revenue annually, according to Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of health care, in an interview with CNBC.
  • Dexcom released preliminary, unaudited results for its fourth quarter on Monday, revealing revenue of at least $1.11 billion, up 8% from the same period last year. The company also announced its expectations for total revenue in 2025, which is expected to be $4.60 billion, a 14% increase over the expected 2024 total. The results caused Dexcom shares to jump more than 6% in premarket trading on Monday, indicating that investors were pleased with the news after a few challenging quarters.
  • Mayo Clinic will implement its AI-powered clinical documentation technology among 2,000 clinicians across the organization, following similar enterprise-wide announcements made by Duke Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine in recent weeks.
  • On Monday, Amazon announced that Teladoc's chronic condition offerings, including its diabetes, hypertension, pre-diabetes, and weight management programs, will be made available to eligible users through its Health Benefits Connector.

This week is just beginning, so stay tuned for more updates!

Rewritten sentence: Please provide any tips, suggestions, story ideas, and data to Ashley at [email protected].

Large employers are turning to nutrition programs to combat GLP-1 costs

The rise in demand for GLP-1 is driving the growth of employer-focused diabetes and nutrition counseling businesses, such as Virta Health and Omada Health. Employers are increasingly mandating that workers who begin high-cost diabetes and weight loss medications enroll in programs that teach them how to sustain their weight loss after stopping GLP-1 use.

Employers may receive lower rebates on treatments from pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers when they implement nutrition programs, as stated by the Purchaser Business Group on Health.

Rewritten sentence: Please provide any tips, suggestions, story ideas, and data to Bertha at [email protected].

by Annika Kim Constantino

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