Having just wrapped our Cooley Talks Life Sciences panel on JPM readiness, I’m struck by how much the conference has evolved—and how much the stakes have risen. With over 50,000 attendees converging on San Francisco and more than 550 companies presenting, JPM 2026 represents both unprecedented opportunity and fierce competition for mindshare and capital.
The numbers tell a compelling story: biotech is up over 30% this year after starting down 20%, and biopharma M&A has doubled from last year with 20 deals above $1 billion. This creates both optimism and pressure—pharma companies are actively prioritizing their strategic objectives for the year, investors are identifying pockets of opportunities and they’ll both leave JPM with clear target lists for partnerships, acquisition and investment.
The companies that succeed aren’t distinguished by chance, they’re distinguished by preparation.
Decoding the Market Landscape: Why JPM 2026 Matters More Than Ever
The market dynamics heading into this year’s conference are unlike recent years. After a rollercoaster 2025, there’s genuine optimism about what 2026 holds for life sciences companies. This isn’t just sentiment—it’s backed by real capital deployment and strategic activity.
What’s driving this momentum? First, the sheer scale of dry powder seeking deployment. With pharma companies flush with cash and facing patent cliffs, they’re actively hunting for innovation. Second, the quality of science has never been higher, with breakthrough therapies across oncology, rare diseases, and beyond reaching inflection points. Third, valuations have reset to more sustainable levels, creating attractive entry points for strategic investors.
But here’s the catch: everyone knows this. The competition for attention has intensified dramatically. As one panelist emphasized, “competitive intelligence matters”—investors and pharma partners may be talking to you partly to understand your field, not necessarily because they’re immediately interested in your specific opportunity.
This reality shapes everything about your JPM strategy. You’re not just competing against other companies in your therapeutic area; you’re competing against every compelling story in life sciences for a finite amount of investor attention and capital.
Telling Your Story: The Art of Compelling Narrative Architecture
The most successful JPM presentations share a common architecture: they lead with clear value inflection points, demonstrate consistent execution against prior commitments, and articulate a differentiated path to commercial success.
Start with Your Three Non-Negotiables
Begin with a powerful exercise to answer this key question – “What are the first three things you want somebody to know about your company?” This isn’t hyperbole. In a week where investors are seeing dozens of companies, your core value proposition must be immediately clear and memorable.
These three points should directly address: (1) What milestone you’re aiming to achieve and when, (2) Why your approach creates differentiated value, and (3) What this means for near-term value creation. Everything else is supporting detail.
The Credibility Imperative
It often takes anywhere from three to nine meetings before investors move forward with funding decisions. They’re not just evaluating your science—they’re evaluating your ability to execute on what you promise. This means your JPM narrative should not just include discussion of your upcoming catalysts, it must demonstrate consistent delivery against prior commitments.
If you said you’d complete enrollment by Q3 and you did, highlight that. If you promised interim data by year-end and delivered, lead with that execution. Credibility is your most valuable currency, and it’s built through a track record of doing what you said you’d do. Take credit for your accomplishments!
The companies that realize the strongest outcomes at JPM are those that have been intentional about building credibility throughout the year, not just at the conference. They haven’t waited for the big moment—they’ve established a foundation of trust with media, investors, and partners through consistent messaging and engagement.
Tailoring Messaging Without Losing Authenticity
Different audiences require different emphasis, but your core story must remain consistent. For investors, focus on value inflection points and commercial opportunity. For pharma partners, emphasize strategic fit with their pipeline needs and development capabilities. But never change your fundamental value proposition—that’s how you lose credibility and create regulatory issues if you’re public.
Making Every Meeting Count: The Anatomy of High-Impact Interactions
The difference between a good JPM meeting and a great one often comes down to preparation and intentionality. Here’s what separates winners from also-rans:
Pre-Meeting Intelligence Gathering
Know your audience. Research each investor’s current portfolio, peer ownership, and investment thesis. For pharma meetings, understand their pipeline gaps and recent strategic moves. Who’s attending—portfolio manager, analyst, or head of M&A? That tells you their level of interest and the types of questions to anticipate. This isn’t just courtesy; it’s competitive intelligence that helps you position your opportunity in the context of their specific needs.
The Two-Deck Strategy
Come prepared with both confidential and non-confidential presentations ready. Your non-confidential deck focuses on publicly available information and high-level value propositions. Your confidential deck, protected by NDAs, can dive deeper into proprietary science, competitive positioning, and strategic rationale.
But here’s the key: these aren’t completely different stories. They’re the same narrative told at different levels of detail. Consistency across both versions is crucial for maintaining credibility and avoiding regulatory issues.
Managing the Information Flow
For public companies, Regulation FD creates unique challenges. You’ll know things you can’t say, and this knowledge changes over time. Distinguish between what you know and what you can share for each specific meeting. Have your team aligned on these boundaries before you walk into any room.
The facial expressions and body language matter more than ever now that we’re back to in-person meetings. Investors are trained to read reactions, so practice maintaining composure even when surprised by questions or comments.
The Follow-Up Framework
The meeting is just the beginning. JPM is a series of “speed dates” that are great for introductions and generating interest for more meaningful follow-up discussions – the follow-up is critical. Maintain spreadsheets tracking who you met, what they asked, and what follow-up actions you committed to. Then execute on those commitments quickly. If someone asked for additional data or a follow-up meeting, deliver within days, not weeks.
Amplifying Your Presence: The Multiplier Effect of Integrated Strategy
JPM success extends far beyond formal investor meetings. The most successful companies create an integrated presence that amplifies their message across multiple touchpoints.
Digital Foundation First
Today your digital footprint matters more than ever because investors are using AI to research companies before meetings. Ensure consistency across your website, social media, and other digital properties. Update your corporate messaging, cash runway, and milestone timelines before the conference.
Consider releasing a corporate update or strategic outlook press release timed to JPM. This creates fresh content for AI research tools and gives you new talking points for meetings.
Strategic Networking with Intent
The networking opportunities are unprecedented, but they require strategy. With 50,000 estimated attendees at JPM, you don’t run into people by accident anymore. Plan your networking as deliberately as your formal meetings.
Target 5-7 meaningful interactions rather than trying to collect dozens of business cards. Use warm introductions whenever possible—a single connection can make the difference between getting a response and being ignored in someone’s overflowing inbox.
The Conversation Continuation Strategy
The real value of JPM often emerges in the months following the conference. The companies that win are those that convert initial meetings into ongoing relationships. This requires systematic follow-up, consistent communication, and delivering on every commitment made during the conference. Track not just who you met, but the quality of each interaction. Focus your post-JPM energy on the relationships with the highest potential.
The 2026 Advantage: Positioning for a Breakout Year
This year’s JPM comes at an inflection point for life sciences. The combination of strong science, improving market conditions, and strategic urgency from pharma creates unique opportunities for companies that execute well.
The companies that will thrive are those that approach JPM not as a single event, but as the launch point for a year-long strategy of relationship building, milestone achievement, and value creation.
The bar has never been higher, but neither has the potential reward. For companies that get it right, JPM 2026 could be the catalyst that transforms their trajectory.
The next four days in San Francisco will shape investor conversations, partnership discussions, and strategic priorities for the year ahead. How you prepare—and how you follow through—will determine what you get out of them.
