GLP-1s kill the big bench, Brian Thomson at JPM Health

San Francisco, famous for its abundance of hoodie-wearing tech workers, was overrun this week by thousands of suit-clad executives. JPMorganyearly health conference.

Leaders of major healthcare systems, venture capital firms and companies from around the world gathered in hotel lobbies to talk business and strategy for 2025. The sunny skies were a welcome relief from the torrential rains of years past, but other plights were harder to ignore.

This year’s conference took place a month after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, colloquially known as JPM. fatally shot in New York City. The news was welcomed by Americans with numerous social media posts expresses his hatred true healthcare industryBy sharing many stories about their negative experiences with insurers.

Including more than 10 companies Cigna and WalgreensThey later spoke at JPM, according to CNBC’s analysis of the conference agenda. Westin St., the main venue of the conference. There was a noticeably large police presence at the Francis Hotel, and many companies stepped up security at their private events and parties.

“I think the underlying theme that people are talking about around water and shakes is what happened to the CEO of UnitedHealthcare,” said Wei-Li Shao, president of metabolic health startup Omada. “What does this mean for healthcare? What transformation needs to happen? And how does work become more accountable?”

Eric Wexler, CEO of Providence, a nonprofit health system with 51 hospitals and 1,000 clinics in seven states, said Thompson’s killing was a “shocking, sad event” that served as a wake-up call for the health care industry. .

“Why are we here on separate paths? Why are we fighting?” Wexler said. “Our job is to do good for the people who need us most at the most important time in their lives, whether it’s the payer or the hospital.”

While Thompson’s death loomed large at the conference, there was also a palpable excitement and buzz about 2025. artificial intelligence and blockbuster weight loss drugs called GLP-1s, and investors seem cautiously optimistic that the digital health market may be turning a corner.

“There are so many great things on the horizon for health,” he said Dexcom CEO Kevin Sayer.

“Pharmaceutical companies and companies like us, we work hard to improve people’s lives, and we make a big difference,” said Sayer, who knows Thompson well. “Be a little optimistic and give us a break, we’re all trying to do good.”

Here are CNBC’s big takeaways from JPM 2025:

Generative AI stole the show

Generative AI was arguably the “girl” of healthcare in 2024, and that’s unlikely to change in 2025.

Health care systems in the U.S. are struggling to deal with burnout, staff shortages and razor-thin stocks, so companies are racing to develop artificial intelligence tools that can ease the industry’s more tedious administrative tasks. It was practically impossible to avoid the subject at JPM.

For example, a health care billing company Waystar announced a new generative artificial intelligence feature aimed at helping doctors quickly fight insurance denials with automatic generation of appeal letters. Amazon Web Services and venture firm General Catalyst announced a new partnership aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of health AI tools. Healthcare startup Abridge announced Mayo Clinic to introduce AI-powered self clinical documentation technology nearly 2,000 clinicians across the institution.

Abridge founder and CEO Dr. “At the highest level, I don’t think AI has much of an impact on healthcare anymore,” Shiv Rao said. “The feedback we get on a daily basis, at least in our segment, is incredible and the adoption rate shows that this is a real thing.”

NvidiaThe maker of hardware that powers AI applications was a particularly popular attendee at JPM this year. The company has announced partnerships with a number of healthcare organizations, including a clinical research provider IQVIAneurotech startup Synchron, a genomics company Illumina and academic medical center Mayo Clinic.

“We have more than a billion dollars in direct revenue and revenue with our partners,” said Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare. He added that Nvidia sees more room for growth for AI health applications.

Executives are bullish on GLP-1

At presentations and cocktail parties this week, CNBC spoke to executives who raved about the benefits of the fast-growing class of weight loss drugs known as GLP-1.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s Diabetes and obesity treatments have been extremely successful in helping patients lose weight in recent years. A He can read found that the patients received NovoAn obesity drug called Wegovy, for example, produced an average of 10% weight loss over four years.

Research shows that GLP-1 may help treat cardiometabolic disease, kidney disease, and addiction, among other conditions. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound as a treatment for sleep apnea in December.

Some analysts estimate that anti-obesity drugs could become a $100 billion industry by the end of the decade.

“These drugs are remarkable, and they’re not going away,” said Dexcom’s Sayer.

Supply shortages are one of the major hurdles for companies in the market, as rising demand has made it difficult for many patients to access treatments. Drugs typically cost $1,000 a month without insurance, and coverage still varies for many Americans.

Nevertheless, many health administrators are optimistic that GLP-1s will significantly improve public health in the United States.

“I was just kidding, it’s two G’s, right? It’s like GLP, GPT,” said Omada CEO Sean Duffy.

Uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration

Before the president-elect Donald TrumpAt Monday’s opening ceremony, JPM leaders had many unanswered questions about what his administration has in store for the health sector.

Health care was not a big focus of Trump’s campaign, suggesting that his policy on the industry is murky. Plus, he fixed some controversial cabinet selection since the elections.

Trump nominated a vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Leading the Department of Health and Human Services, a popular television host Dr. Mehmet Oz Lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the pancreatic surgeon Dr. Marty Macary To lead the Food and Drug Administration. All three nominees still need Senate confirmation.

“Until we get a little more visibility into this incoming administration in the U.S., the market is going to be volatile and a little more depressed,” Rebecca Stevenson, HSBC’s head of healthcare investment banking for the Americas, told reporters. round table.

Owen Tripp, CEO of virtual care platform Included Health, said the Trump administration appears business-friendly and will push to increase access to care.

“It’s not so much who’s in the White House, it’s actually you have a Republican Congress and a Senate that are fundamentally in favor of expanding access and transparency,” Tripp said. “I think you’re going to see more transparency around drug prices and health care prices, which is very positive.”

See: The UnitedHealthcare tragedy is a wake-up call for corporate America, says Wharton’s Americus Reed