M&A
Revolution Medicines’ CEO has JPM's attention
Investors packed themselves into a hotel meeting room to hear Revolution Medicines CEO Mark Goldsmith explain why Merck — or some other pharma buyer — should pay $30 billion or more to acquire the developer of targeted cancer drugs.
Goldsmith didn’t specifically address the media reports of an imminent deal, of course. It was the subtext of his remarks, delivered in a dry, matter-of-fact style, that spoke much more loudly.
“We have very little to say [on media reports of an acquisition] since we have an established policy of not commenting on market speculation," Goldsmith told analyst Brian Cheng, with a knowing grin on his face.
If a deal is done, it is likely to be the most money ever paid for a developmental (non-revenue-producing) biotech company.
Read more.
fundraising
Pre-JPM biotech financings surge
Money flowed into both private and public biotech companies ahead of JPM.
So far this month, investors have poured $2.6 billion into follow-on rounds for public biotechs — the most ever for the pre-JPM timespan, as noted by venture capitalist Bruce Booth. And private companies raised more than $2 billion in a slew of financings leading up to the conference, including an unusual $305 million round for Parabilis Medicines.
(To contextualize, private biotechs raised $7 billion between Jan. 1 and March 31 last year, according to HSBC).
That bodes well for the industry. Private biotech financing, for example, has generally stabilized over the last year or two, but folks have been wanting to see a bit more oomph.
Vaccines
Moderna hits its marks, but co-founder sees danger for industry
From our colleague Jason Mast: Moderna said it earned $1.9 billion in 2025, hitting its guidance for the year, and spent around $200 million less than it previously projected. It also said it expected revenue to grow 10% in 2026. The update was welcomed by Wall Street analysts who have been critical of the company’s spending since Covid and concerned about its ability to handle a new government administration hostile to vaccines, particularly those that are mRNA-based.
The biotech’s stock fell 5%, though. The decline might be attributed to Moderna co-founder and chair Noubar Afeyan, who published Monday an open letter warning that cuts to research funding and political decisions are jeopardizing American innovation. “We’re at risk of taking a sledgehammer to our miracle machine,” he wrote. Although the Trump administration and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were not named, the letter was a clear reference to some of their decisions over the past year and could invite blowback.
REGULATION
How, exactly, does the FDA feel about cell and gene therapy?
It’s confusing. On Sunday, Commissioner Marty Makary, minutes after deplaning in San Francisco, posted a walk-and-talk X video from the airport terminal touting the agency’s “new flexibilities” for cell and gene therapy manufacturing.
And then this morning, Atara Biotherapeutics announced the rejection by the FDA of its cell therapy for patients with a type of white blood cell disorder.
Atara’s therapy was first rejected by the FDA in January 2025 — aka the previous FDA — because of manufacturing issues. The company fixed those problems and resubmitted its application. It was then rejected again, this time by Makary’s FDA, or more likely, by Vinay Prasad, the agency official in charge of regulating cell and gene therapies, because of insurmountable problems with the company’s clinical trial.
In its announcement, Atara, sounding angry, noted the FDA’s second rejection on efficacy grounds was a “complete reversal” of the agency’s previous position that had been agreed to mutually “through multiple, documented meetings held over the past five plus years.”
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Trillionaries, unite
Eli Lilly and Nvidia, two companies whose combined market value outstrips the GDP of Germany, are going to do some computing.
The pair will invest up to $1 billion over five years to set up a Bay Area lab that will unite Nvidia AI experts with Lilly scientists in the name of teaching machines to discover medicines. This morning’s announcement is heavy on buzzphrases: There are two promises to “reinvent drug discovery” and four mentions of trademarked Nvidia products. But the gist seems to be: They’re going to spend a lot of money creating models that might make it easier to perform the difficult task of making a new drug.
And why not? Lilly, whose stable of weight loss treatments has catapulted its valuation to $1 trillion, is playing with house money. Meanwhile Nvidia, the full-stop most valuable firm on Earth, could use some diversification. The company relies on just four customers for the majority of its sales. Winning over some pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t hurt.
ADVERTISING
The pill is here, apparently
Elaine Chen/STAT
Spotted by Elaine: In Union Square, Novo Nordisk has taken to the streets to promote the Wegovy pill. Surely, Eli Lilly's vehicle is on the assembly line now.
