GLP-1s, Brian Thomson killing loom large at JPM Health

San Francisco, famed for its abundance of hoodie-clad tech staff, was overrun by 1000’s of executives in fits this week for JPMorgan‘s annual health-care conference.

Leaders from main well being methods, enterprise capital corporations and firms across the globe clustered in lodge lobbies to speak enterprise and technique for 2025. The sunny skies had been a welcome reprieve from the downpours of years previous, however different absences had been tougher to disregard.

This yr’s convention, colloquially referred to as JPM, befell a month after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York Metropolis. The information was welcomed by People with quite a few social media posts expressing resentment towards the health-care industry, with many sharing tales about their unfavorable experiences with insurers. 

Greater than 10 corporations, together with Cigna and Walgreens, subsequently pulled their appearances at JPM, in accordance with CNBC’s evaluation of the convention agenda. There was a noticeably massive police presence on the convention’s most important venue, the Westin St. Francis Resort, and lots of corporations beefed up safety at their personal occasions and events. 

“The subterranean subject that I believe persons are speaking about across the water and the cocktails is clearly what occurred to the UnitedHealthcare CEO,” stated Wei-Li Shao, president of metabolic well being startup Omada. “What does that imply for health-care? What transformation ought to happen? And the way do issues get extra accountable?” 

Thompson’s homicide was a “gorgeous, unhappy occasion” that has served as a get up name for the health-care business, stated Erik Wexler, CEO of the nonprofit well being system Windfall, which is made up of 51 hospitals and 1,000 clinics throughout seven states.

“Why are we on a separate pathway right here? Why are we combating?” Wexler stated. “Our job is to do good for individuals who desperately want us at crucial time of their lives, whether or not you are the payer otherwise you’re the hospital.”

Whereas Thompson’s dying loomed massive over the convention, there was additionally palpable pleasure and buzz about 2025. There was no scarcity of discussions in regards to the potential advantages of artificial intelligence and the blockbuster weight reduction medicine known as GLP-1s, and buyers appear cautiously optimistic that the digital well being market may flip a nook.  

“There are such a lot of wonderful issues on the horizon for health-care,” stated Dexcom CEO Kevin Sayer.

“Drug corporations and firms like ours, we attempt actual arduous to enhance folks’s lives, and we make an enormous distinction,” stated Sayer, who knew Thompson nicely. “Be a bit of optimistic and provides us a little bit of a break, we’re all attempting to do good things.”

Listed here are CNBC’s huge takeaways from JPM 2025:

Generative AI stole the present

Generative AI was undoubtedly health-care’s “it lady” of 2024, and that appears unlikely to vary in 2025. 

Well being methods within the U.S. are struggling to take care of burnout, staffing shortages and razor skinny margins, so corporations are racing to develop AI instruments that may streamline among the business’s extra tedious administrative duties. The topic was virtually unattainable to keep away from at JPM. 

For example, health-care funds firm Waystar introduced a brand new generative AI function that goals to assist docs shortly fight insurance denials by mechanically drafting enchantment letters. Amazon Web Services and the enterprise agency Common Catalyst introduced a brand new partnership that goals to hurry up the event and deployment of health-care AI instruments. Well being-care startup Abridge announced Mayo Clinic will roll out its AI-powered clinical documentation technology to round 2,000 clinicians throughout all the enterprise.

“On the highest degree, I do not suppose it may be understated how a lot influence AI is already creating in health-care,” stated Dr. Shiv Rao, founder and CEO of Abridge. “At the least in our section, the suggestions that we get each day is simply unbelievable, and the adoption fee demonstrates that this can be a actual factor.”

Nvidia, which makes the {hardware} that powers AI purposes, was a very widespread attendee at JPM this yr. The corporate introduced partnerships with a number of health-care organizations together with the scientific analysis supplier IQVIA, neurotech startup Synchron, genomics firm Illumina and educational medical heart Mayo Clinic. 

“We’re nicely over a billion greenback enterprise between direct income and income with our companions,” stated Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vp of health-care. She added that Nvidia sees extra room for progress for AI health-care purposes.

Executives are bullish on GLP-1s 

At shows and cocktail events this week, CNBC spoke with executives who marveled about the advantages of the booming class of weight reduction medicine referred to as GLP-1s. 

Novo Nordisk’s and Eli Lilly’s diabetes and weight problems remedies have been wildly profitable at serving to sufferers shed extra pounds lately. A May study discovered that sufferers taking Novo‘s weight problems drug Wegovy maintained a median of 10% weight reduction for as much as 4 years, as an example. 

Analysis reveals that GLP-1s may additionally assist deal with cardiometabolic illness, kidney illness and dependancy, amongst different situations. The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration accredited Lilly’s weight reduction drug Zepbound as a remedy for sleep apnea in December. 

Some analysts estimate that anti-obesity medicines may develop right into a $100 billion business by the tip of the last decade.

“These medicine are exceptional, and so they’re not going away,” Dexcom’s Sayer stated. 

Provide shortages are one of many huge hurdles for corporations available in the market, as hovering demand has made it troublesome for a lot of sufferers to entry the remedies. The medicine sometimes value $1,000 per 30 days with out insurance coverage, and protection nonetheless varies for a lot of People.

Even so, many health-care executives are optimistic that GLP-1s will meaningfully enhance public well being within the U.S.

“I’ve been joking, it has been the 2 G’s, proper? It is like, GLP, GPT,” Omada CEO Sean Duffy stated.

Uncertainty across the Trump administration

Forward of President-elect Donald Trump‘s Monday inauguration, executives at JPM had many unanswered questions on what his administration has in retailer for the health-care sector. 

Well being-care was not an enormous focus for Trump on the marketing campaign path, which suggests his coverage goals for the business are murky. Moreover, he is made some controversial cupboard picks because the election. 

Trump nominated vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to steer the Division of Well being and Human Providers, celeb TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz to steer the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers and pancreatic surgeon Dr. Marty Makary to steer the Meals and Drug Administration. All three nominees nonetheless want Senate affirmation. 

“Till we’ve a bit of bit extra visibility into this administration that is coming in within the U.S., the market goes to be risky and considerably extra depressed,” Rebecca Stevenson, HSBC’s head of health-care funding banking for the Americas, instructed reporters throughout a roundtable. 

Owen Tripp, the CEO of the digital care platform Included Well being, stated the Trump administration seems to be enterprise pleasant and has prompt it is going to push for elevated entry to care. 

“It is not even a lot who’s within the White Home, however truly the truth that you’ve got acquired a Republican Congress and Senate which have on precept aligned with increasing entry and transparency,” Tripp stated. “I believe you are going to see extra transparency on drug pricing and well being care pricing too, which can also be vastly optimistic.”

Watch: UnitedHealthcare tragedy is a wakeup call for corporate America, says Wharton’s Americus Reed