Data shows that pharmaceutical giants face patent expirations for over $100 billion worth of drugs by 2030. For example, Merck's PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) generated a staggering $29.48 billion in sales in 2024-nearly 40% of the company's total revenue-while its core patents expire in 2028. Similarly, Bristol Myers Squibb's (BMS) Opdivo (another PD-1 inhibitor), Eliquis (anticoagulant), and Novo Nordisk's star product semaglutide will lose exclusivity in the coming years, facing full-scale generic competition.
At the 2026 JPM Healthcare Conference, multinational pharmaceutical companies unveiled their pipeline progress and long-term strategies-aimed not only at mitigating patent cliffs but also at securing the next blockbuster drug.
01 Pipeline Diversification and the "Portfolio Strategy"
To avoid revenue freefalls from expiring blockbusters, multinationals are prioritizing breaking reliance on single "king drugs" and building diversified pipelines. This "portfolio mindset" shifts focus from chasing another super-blockbuster to spreading risk through multi-product, multi-therapeutic area, and multi-stage layouts.
Sanofi exemplifies this strategy. Its flagship drug Dupixent (dupilumab)-a growth engine with 2024 sales exceeding $14 billion-faces patent expiration in 2031. Instead of betting on a single successor, Sanofi is building a late-stage pipeline spanning immunology, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular health, and vaccines.
At JPM 2026, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson emphasized aggressive business development (BD) efforts and plans to add 8–12 high-quality early-stage assets, with key catalysts (regulatory approvals, clinical readouts) expected by 2027. Earlier this month, Sanofi partnered with Chinese AI-driven biotech Earendil (overseas arm of Huashen Pharma) for $160 million upfront to develop bispecific antibodies for autoimmune diseases-directly advancing its diversification and external innovation goals.
BMS is equally committed to pipeline diversification to counter patent losses. CEO Chris Boerner stressed BD as the top capital allocation priority for 2026, targeting 10+ new drug launches by 2030 across multiple therapeutic areas. At JPM, BMS highlighted six pipeline assets with $1 billion+ sales potential: antipsychotic Cobenfy (xanomeline + trospium), anticoagulant Milvexian, pulmonary fibrosis drug Admilparant, PD-L1/VEGF-A bispecific Pumitamig, and two molecular glues (Iberdomide, Mezigdomide)-covering neuroscience, cardiovascular, immunology, and oncology.
Boerner noted BMS completed $30 billion in deals over two years (five in 2025) and will continue strategic transactions for growth.
After 2025's leadership changes, layoffs, and early-stage project terminations, Novo Nordisk is accelerating pipeline diversification. At JPM, the company reaffirmed its obesity leadership while expanding into other metabolic diseases. CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar revealed 12 deals in 2025 and plans to acquire new assets/platforms-with no restrictions on origin (including China, Japan, and Germany).
02 Focus on High-Differentiation Assets
Some multinationals are adopting a "quality over quantity" approach-cutting ambiguous projects and concentrating resources on high-differentiation, clinically valuable innovations. At JPM 2026, "R&D efficiency" and "differentiated competition" were top buzzwords, with firms detailing R&D restructuring.
Roche signaled a shift from integration to optimization at JPM 2025, cutting 30% of its internal pipeline. Resources now focus on projects poised to redefine standards of care-primarily in oncology, neuroscience, and immunology. By 2030, Roche aims to launch 19 new drugs, 17 with $1 billion+ annual sales and 9 with $3 billion+ peak potential. In 2026, Roche will share Phase III data for five new molecular entities (NMEs) targeting unmet needs in weight loss (poor response, tolerability, plateaus, rebound, muscle loss, complications). Prior to JPM, Roche paid $100 million to license GLP-1-related patents from Structure Therapeutics, filling technical gaps.
Novartis' focus is equally striking. Concentrating on cardiovascular-metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, Novartis has 9 launched drugs with $1 billion+ peak potential and 8 upcoming blockbusters. Its CDK4/6 inhibitor-expanding in early breast cancer-could exceed $10 billion in peak sales. Core products like Entresto (cardiovascular), Cosentyx (IL-17A, immunology), Kesimpta (CD20, immunology), Scemblix (hematologic malignancy), Fabhalta (CFB inhibitor), and radiopharmaceuticals Pluvicto/Lutathera all have $3 billion+ peak potential. At JPM, CEO Vas Narasimhan highlighted 12 potential registration-readout datasets (2026–2027) in cardiovascular and immunology.
03 Strategic M&A and Business Development
BMS' Boerner reiterated BD as 2026's top capital priority, with $30 billion in deals over two years (five in 2025). BMS' strategy: "cast a wide net" but prioritize familiar therapeutic areas and near-term growth.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is reshaping its innovative medicine growth curve via M&A. In 2024–2025, J&J acquired Ambrx (for a differentiated ADC platform) and Intra-Cellular Therapies ($14.6 billion)-two landmark deals.
Merck CEO Rob Davis detailed the company's BD push since 2021: over $60 billion invested in collaborations/acquisitions with Verona Pharma, Cidara, Daiichi Sankyo, Gilead, and Chinese innovators (Hengrui, Kelun-Biotech, Hansoh, LaNova). In 2025 alone, Merck spent nearly $20 billion on acquisitions and over $4 billion licensing candidates/platforms from Hengrui-all to prepare for Keytruda's patent cliff.
Other giants are integrating external innovation: Gilead explores small-to-midsize M&A; Sanofi focuses on early asset acquisition; AbbVie strengthens oncology/CNS pipelines via deals (e.g., ImmunoGen, Cerevel) and partnerships (e.g., RemeGen for bispecific antibody RC148).
04 Cutting-Edge Technologies
Multinationals are defining not just whatto develop, but whereand howto compete.
On therapeutic areas, oncology, neuroscience, immunology, and cardiovascular-metabolic diseases are top battlegrounds. J&J aims to be the global oncology leader with $50 billion in oncology revenue by 2030; BMS targets a "three-pillar" model (oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience).
For technology platforms, ADCs, bispecific/multispecific antibodies, molecular glues, and gene editing are favored. ADCs are particularly competitive: Merck, AstraZeneca, and Roche are all expanding here-Merck's in-house B7-H3 ADC and ROR1 ADC are advancing globally.
AI is moving from exploration to deep integration, powering next-gen R&D and operations. A standout JPM collaboration: Eli Lilly and NVIDIA announced a $1 billion AI joint lab to solve long-standing challenges in drug discovery, development, and manufacturing. Pfizer plans to "scale AI application" in 2026, having already cut $5.6 billion in costs via AI-with further integration across R&D, production, and commercialization.
05 Conclusion
In the uncertain "post-blockbuster era," multinationals are building systemic capabilities to navigate cycles. This profound strategic transformation-just beginning-will reshape the global pharmaceutical landscape for the next decade.
(Reference Materials: Presentation materials from each company's 2026 JPM Healthcare Conference.
Disclaimer: This content is intended solely for disseminating information within the pharmaceutical industry. The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent the positions of any company.)
