Novo Nordisk CEO talks about GLP-1 pill at JPMorgan conference

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Hello from San Francisco! It’s the third day of the annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, the largest gathering of executives, investors and analysts from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in the United States.

The sun was out this week, as was the optimism in the sector. Several drugmakers, investors and advisors are suggesting that 2026 is already shaping up to be a good year – or at least better – than the last, with significant drug pricing and pricing challenges largely resolved, interest rates falling and, most importantly, encouraging the emergence of science in companies large and small.

On the negotiations side, the situation was relatively calm this week. No major tie-ups have been announced, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t in the works. Meanwhile, companies are planning their year ahead, highlighting key updates to their businesses and drug pipelines.

Here’s a recap of what I heard in my conversations with some top CEOs.

Novo Nordisk Mike Doustdar, CEO told me in an interview Monday that the company’s newest oral GLP-1 for obesity, the Wegovy pill, and its injectable counterpart of the same name will allow it to expand the incretin market in 2026.

But he said this year “will be the year of price pressure,” following a drug pricing deal Novo Nordisk reached with President Donald Trump in November, as well as the introduction of cheaper generic versions of some of the company’s drugs in some international markets.

“When the price drops, you immediately feel the impact,” Doustdar said. But he added that the company was looking to generate volume growth to offset these price cuts, which “won’t happen overnight.”

Doustdar added that in addition to advancing its own pipeline, Novo Nordisk will be active on the business development side to “see if anyone else has something that can complement our own pipeline.” The comments come after Novo Nordisk lost a bitter bidding war with Pfizer over obesity biotech Metsera last year.

Bristol Myers Squibb Chris Boerner, CEO told me in an interview Tuesday that the company has the potential to deliver as many as 10 new products by the end of the decade. The comments come as Bristol Myers Squibb prepares to offset losses from a cycle of loss of exclusivity of blockbuster drugs over the next few years, which will allow generic competitors to enter the market.

“We’ve intentionally built this portfolio to be very diverse and while we know not everything will work, we’re really happy with the substrate we have in late-stage development, and the mid-stage pipeline is progressing well as well,” he said.

Boerner highlighted 11 late-stage program reads in 2026 regarding six potential new products. That includes upcoming Alzheimer’s psychosis trials — called the Adept program — for Cobenfy, the company’s prescription drug approved in late 2024 to treat adults with schizophrenia.

When it comes to business development, Boerner said the company is “casting a wide net.” He added that Bristol Myers Squibb hopes to build on the core therapeutic areas it knows well, look at different phases of development and focus on “the best and most innovative science we can find” to combat difficult-to-treat diseases.

Pfizer Albert Bourla, CEO said the company was “all in on the fight against obesity” after its roughly $10 billion acquisition of obesity biotech Metsera last year. Speaking to a group of reporters Monday, Bourla said the company plans to launch 10 different advanced studies of Metsera’s obesity products by the end of the year, including a study launching in November.

He also said Pfizer failed to take into account certain elements when negotiating the deal with Metsera, including the large direct market for obesity drugs, where patients are willing to pay cash for their treatments. Bourla compared the opportunity to Pfizer’s experience with Viagra, which the company launched in 1998.

“Lilly and Novo presented their sales and had significant sales outside of the reimbursement system. Basically, outside of the United States, we were calculating very limited sales,” Bourla said. “We’re seeing now that it works almost like Viagra, where people were willing to pay and buy it, even though it wasn’t reimbursed at all.”

And here are some of the other pharmaceutical news discussed during the conference:

• Elie Lilly And Nvidia announced Monday that the two companies will jointly invest up to $1 billion over five years to create a laboratory in San Francisco focused on using AI to accelerate drug discovery.
• AbbVie On Monday, he reached a deal with the Trump administration to reduce the price of some of its drugs and invest $100 billion domestically over the next decade in exchange for a tariff waiver and “future pricing mandates.” The company is now among more than a dozen major drugmakers that have struck similar deals with Trump under his “most favored nation” policy.
• AbbVie also said Monday it agreed to pay $650 million up front to license an experimental cancer therapy from China’s RemeGen, in a deal that could ultimately be worth nearly $5.6 billion.

Feel free to send tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at a new email: annika.constantino@versantmedia.com.