At JP Morgan 2026, Few Showed Up For U.S. Manufacturing

By Louis Garguilo, Chief Editor, Outsourced Pharma

What may turn out to be an instructive anomaly emerged last month at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.

Across eight roundtable discussions convened by biopharma investment advisors Treehill Partners – covering topics such as Avoidable Drug Development Pitfalls, and The Emergence of Highly Competitive Chinese and Korean Biotech – the one session to which nary a soul showed up was titled U.S. Manufacturing.

“I don’t quite understand it,” says Ali Pashazadeh, Treehill founder. The other seven sessions were well attended and the discussions lively.

Was this an innocent fluke of scheduling? A lot happens simultaneously at this conference.

Still, wouldn't you be interested in receiving an invite to participate in an open discussion to address these questions:

• How have smaller biotech successfully navigated the new prerequisite of manufacturing in the U.S.? 
• What early-stage collaboration models of biotech with CDMOs & CROs have we seen, and how have these been financed?

 “Out of all the sessions, I thought this one was a slam dunk," says Pashazadeh. "The lack of attendance by biotechs is worth focusing on to understand what lessons we might draw.”

“At this stage, it’s a data point – but warrants further reflection rather than immediate conclusions.” The other seven sessions were “exceptionally well attended,” so scheduling conflicts and the sheer density of the JPM agenda may have played a role.

Nonetheless, given the ongoing investment and expansion announcements from Big Pharma and CDMOs in the U.S., manufacturing is clearly a strategic priority.

What may be happening, though, "is emerging biotechs—constrained by capital and operating against specific development timelines—are prioritizing other near-term decisions before committing to manufacturing geography.”

Pashazadeh plans to revisit the topic this business quarter. Treehill’s close relationships with CDMOs across the U.S., China, South Korea, and India, may result in some noteworthy thoughts, he says, “rather than something more concerning.”

“So the question is not why attendance was low,” says Pashazadeh. “What we can learn overall from the perspectives of global CDMOs themselves? What are they seeing today? Are trends continuing to evolve?”

A JP Morgan Of Ownership

Treehill’s presence at JP Morgan 2026 was substantial. The firm held 178 meetings during the week, including 16 with large-cap pharmaceutical companies. The roundtables mentioned above were attended by CEOs and senior executives across bio/pharma and services.

Treehill also participated in the GenScript forum, which attracted approximately 500 in-person attendees and close to 1,000 virtual participants.

“This was one of the most productive JPMorgan conferences I’ve experienced in more than two decades,” Pashazadeh reflects. “This was a ‘JP Morgan of ownership.’”

“What I mean by ownership is that at every JP Morgan, people are either excited because the market is doing well, or they are unhappy because the market is doing badly. It’s one of those relationships where someone's mood is dependent on that of others.

Not this year.

The broader tone of the conference, says Pashazadeh, reflected “disciplined optimism.”

“People were positive, but grounded. There was far less hype, and far more substance – an emphasis on what truly matters, and what can realistically be delivered.

“It seemed everyone came in saying, ‘I really need to get stuff done, and this is what I''m going to do – what it takes to execute with pragmatic decision-making. We will move forward realistically and with intent.”

And the geography of those intentions may continue to surprise us.

China and Korea: Accelerating the Global Conversation

The JP Morgan conference demonstrated the still accelerating momentum coming out of China and South Korea.

For its part, Treehill co-sponsored a Korea Night  that drew more than 700 attendees, underscoring the mounting global interest in the region. “The energy was remarkable,” says Pashazadeh. The takeaway for him? “When someone says they've ‘landed manufacturing onshore,’ they have – on shores all over the world.”

Additionally of strong interest is a coalescing of organizations who are ostensibly  CDMOs and also discovering, developing – and phenomenally – stockpiling their own lead compounds and clinical candidates.  

Pashazadeh says we have surpassed any derogatory talk about how molecules are not developed to the right quality or as rigorously in the East as in the West.

"We should all be studying each other," he says.

“That should start with learning how quickly some of us in the industry can accomplish things. What stood out most was the pace at which companies in China and Korea are advancing – scientifically, operationally, and strategically.”

Pashazadeh was “shocked” twice at the conference.  

“A young professional I was speaking with at career night said, ‘Thanks for sponsoring the event … Do you want to find assets in China?’ I was then introduced to a comprehensive China-focused, business-development database organized by molecule, mechanism of action, and therapeutic area." 

"I was told, 'I can tell you who own the molecules, and introduce you.'”

From that conversation, Pashazadeh draws this among other conclusions: “If you are doing China BD, your market is being demystified.”

In a second discussion, he was offered a complete target-product profile analysis. Delivered in five days. At no cost.

“It  highlights how rapidly the ecosystem is evolving and how integrated capabilities have become,” he says.

“I spent time with organizations running hundreds of clinical programs while simultaneously developing and manufacturing at scale,” says Pashazadeh. “The level of coordination, speed, and cost discipline is impressive.”

I will dive into what this might mean specifically for the biotech industry in my next editorial.

For U.S.-based CROs and CDMOs, these global developments naturally raise challenges, and opportunities.

The opportunity lies with the CDMO that can clearly articulating where differentiated expertise, its own innovation and partnership models can in fact add the greatest value.

Competition, as they say, is a good thing. It should raise everyone's game.

As JP Morgan 2026 demonstrated, the biopharma industry is moving forward with a rejuvenated purpose, and despite tariffs and a presumption of a U.S. focus, doing so on a global scale.