The 2024 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) recently wrapped. Every year, leaders from across the healthcare industry convene to discuss their work and thoughts about the year ahead.
The Golin Health Media Team reviewed the highlights and identified the biggest trends to watch for in 2024.
Media coverage coming out of JPM is always around trending stories. There’s a lot of news each year at this conference, but typically a consensus forms among the media on the biggest topics. This year we saw a few:
- Biotech (and investment) is back: The most pervasive narrative on traditional and social media is the renewed optimism around biotech, financing, and M&A. Following a very tough 2023, where many biotechs had to downsize or close due to lack of available capital, journalists reported that attendees were extremely upbeat – with many influential bankers saying this was going to be a big year for pharma mergers and acquisitions. | Scrip: J.P. Morgan 2024: Financial Forecast Is Sunny For Firms Poised For Pharma Deals
- Deals are the main driver: Biotech deals were lighter in 2023, with companies expecting a recession. Fast forward to JPM: there were several deals that received coverage, and rumors of even bigger ones (e.g., Novartis and Cytokinetics) received significant media attention. The tabled Cigna/Humana merger also could influence deal momentum as companies to jump into buying in 2024. We’re seeing Big Pharma buying more established biotechs, and a strong appetite for companies with weight loss therapeutic candidates. | Biospace: 7 Deals Emerge During JPM Week in Strong Start to 2024
- Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC): There was a lot of discussion around ADCs, which deliver chemotherapy agents to specifically target and kill cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy ones. Coverage was kicked off by J&J acquiring a developer just before the start of the meeting, joining Roche, Pfizer, Merck, AZ, Eli Lilly, and AbbVie in the market. | CNBC: Biotech and pharma companies are betting on a promising class of cancer drugs to drive growth | Fierce Biotech: JPM24: Roche's pharma BD chief explains renewed ADC interest but is spoilt for choice
- CEO interviews: Coverage was dominated by company news and CEO interviews. JPM is a very crowded environment, with lots of CEOs available. To get an interview to go from being “on background” to getting published often takes a CEO. Interviews with senior leadership just below the CEO level (e.g., Head of R&D, Head of Business Development) occasionally receive media coverage. | STAT: At JPM, Bristol’s new CEO appeals to history to try to soothe investors’ nerves
- Artificial intelligence: AI continues to be a trending topic among health media with several tech companies having a presence at the meeting, as well as a few AI-centric deals. Whether it’s related to improving medical devices, executing better clinical trials, or increasing safety, any 2024 storyline that can credibly include AI is a good bet to be strongly considered by reporters for coverage. News cycles have tended to be triggered by new innovations in the field. | BioSpace: JPM2024: Big Tech Poised to Disrupt Biopharma with AI-Based Drug Discovery | Pharmaceutical Executive: Presentation at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Highlights Growth of Platform for AI, Data | Modern Healthcare: JPM 2024 Day 1: Mayo Clinic looks to AI innovation for ‘huge win’
- Obesity: The obesity market is just getting started and remains a hot topic of conversation in earned media around the impacts to GLP-1s – not just for the pharmaceutical business, but across all categories. Reporters are trying to understand what these treatments will mean for the American and global consumer, while investors and Big Pharma are searching for GLP-1 alternatives and new drug candidates that target obesity. As newly approved medicines roll out in 2024, along with novel ways to obtain prescriptions, these treatments will become more accessible, leading to more conversation about which patients should have access, and the growing socioeconomic impact these medicines will have.
- Payors and providers finally have a presence: In past years, the payor and provider space has been almost completely overshadowed by pharma at JPM. Possibly as an outcome of changing media attention since the pandemic began, there was a lot of coverage about these sectors. | Modern Healthcare: JPM 2024 Day 3: Star ratings drop helps Alignment Health, CEO says | STAT: What to expect from hospitals and health insurers at this year’s JPM Healthcare Conference | Fierce Healthcare: JPM24: Top trends for payers, providers and health tech companies to watch
Other health media trends to watch for in 2024:
While not discussed at JPM, there are several other major trends for 2024 that will influence the media environment, which companies should be aware of.
Drug shortages: Even with supply chain problems caused by the pandemic mostly back to normal, media remain very focused on drug shortages. In 2023, media provided deep coverage of the oncology and ADHD medicine shortages with articles that went beyond the superficial, discussing the causes and the implications for patients. We expect this level of media interest to continue in 2024 for the ongoing shortages and any new ones that may arise.
Clinical data rebounds: Clinical trials and data studies, which took a back seat in the media earlier in the pandemic, are back. Medical meetings and peer-reviewed journals are driving media narratives again, which should continue in 2024. While media attendance at most congresses is unlikely to rebound to their pre-pandemic levels due to the overall status of the news industry, remote coverage remains significant. We can help our clients stand out by acknowledging that outside of the most high-profile meetings (e.g., ASCO, ESMO, AHA, ESC), the majority of our efforts should be focused on reporters that may cover from afar. The key will be pre-meeting embargoed media outreach and arranging for spokespeople to do remote interviews.
Political influence: Despite many topics such as the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, immigration, inflation, and former President Trump’s ongoing judicial trials consuming the majority of the election year news cycle, we expect drug pricing, supply chain, and healthcare access to be part of the conversation among candidates – though not as front-and-center as in previous election cycles. Additionally, key healthcare-related cases will go in front of the Supreme Court that could impact the scope of federal agencies, including one case concerning the FDA’s ability to regulate medicines to terminate pregnancies. As rulings are made, reporters will be reaching out to large companies for their reaction and opinions.
We expect 2024 to be another busy and exciting year in healthcare, and we’re ?happy to talk to you about how your organization’s communications can break into the health media landscape.
