JPM26 Recap, Novo’s Oral Wegovy Soars as Lilly’s Orforglipron Is Delayed, IPOs Return

The 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference concludedlast week without a big M&A deal. But the meeting was anything but boring, with President Donald Trump’sMost Favored Nation drug pricing scheme and the perpetual battle for supremacyin the obesity space between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk prime topics of conversation. Meanwhile, other companies like Biohaven refuse tocede the entire weight loss market, stating their intention to carve out apiece of the massive pie.  On the competitive front, Novo took a step forwardMonday with the news that its Wegovy pill reached nearly 3,100 patients since its launch on Jan. 5. Meanwhile, an FDAdecision for Lilly’s own oral offering, orforglipron, has been delayed from March28 to April 10. Orforglipron is being reviewed under the FDA’s new Commissioner’sNational Priority Voucher (CNPV) program, which aims to shorten the reviewperiod from 10–12 months to 1–2 months. Other voucher recipients—includingSanofi and Disc Medicine—have also had their decisions delayed.  While the FDA wasn’t a primary focus at JPM, severalbiotechs sought to make clear during their investor presentations that they hadsecured alignment with the regulator on trial design or pathways to approval. This comesafter a year that has seen many of their peers experience regulatory whiplashas previous FDA guidance was seemingly reversed.  And on the business front, IPOs are back! This week, SpyGlass Pharma and AgomAb Therapeutics joined Veradermicsand Eikon Therapeutics on the rapidly accelerating IPO train. Aktis Oncology,which announced its bid in late 2025, debuted on the Nasdaq earlier this month. And in BioPharm Executive this week, Annalee Armstrongand Dan Samorodnitsky catch up with execs from Novo Nordisk, Korro Bio, Biohaven and Galapagos.