HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES NEWS

Key takeaways from the Life Sciences Investment Forum 2025

by McDermott Will & Schulte | Dec 2, 2025 | Life Sciences, Life Sciences Private Equity

On November 13, 2025, the Life Sciences Investment Forum brought together more than 180 leaders in the life sciences investment community for a day of dynamic conversations and strategic insights. Top decision-makers shared emerging trends and opportunities, how they’re navigating market headwinds, and what they expect for the industry in 2026 and beyond. Below are four takeaways from the discussions.

Growth is the dominant narrative and the key valuation driver

Across biopharma, private equity (PE), and public markets, growth was repeatedly emphasized as the most important factor for valuation, fundraising, and multiple expansion.

Large-cap pharma has driven most recent market value expansion, fueled by demand for large-population therapies (e.g., GLP-1s).
Investors expect outsized returns for companies with predictable, rapid top-line growth.
“Keep your eye on the top line” emerged as the #1 message to investors heading into 2026.

Structural headwinds are mounting: Policy, pricing pressure, and healthcare costs

Regulation – not science – will be the primary gating factor in investment decisions over the next 12 to 24 months:

Healthcare spending outpacing gross domestic product (GDP) is pushing pressure for cost controls.
Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing, drug price negotiations, and reimbursement shifts are creating real concern for biotech P&Ls, driving the need for tight forecasting and clean data.
As transitions at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are affecting predictability, companies must plan for worst-case regulatory scenarios and establish multiple backup plans.

Early-stage is [...]

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This Week in 340B: November 18 – 24, 2025

by McDermott Will & Emery, Emily Jane Cook, Matthew David, Abygail Hoey, Sydney Merritt Martinez, Deepika Raj, Kelsey Reinhardt and Nadine Tejadilla | Nov 26, 2025 | 340B
Find this week’s updates on 340B litigation to help you stay in the know on how 340B cases are developing across the country. Each week we comb through the dockets of more than 50 340B cases to provide you with a quick summary of relevant updates from the prior week in this industry-shaping body of litigation. Get more details on these 340B cases and all other material 340B cases pending in federal and state courts with the 340B Litigation Tracker.

Issues at Stake: Contract Pharmacy

In one case by a drug manufacturer challenging an Arkansas state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, the drug manufacturer filed a reply in support of its motion for summary judgment and a response to the government and intervenor-defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

In one case brought by a drug manufacturer challenging a Colorado state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, the plaintiff filed a notice of appeal and the defendants filed a reply to the response to the motion to dismiss.

In a case challenging a South Dakota state bill, plaintiffs filed a brief in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction.

A drug manufacturer filed a complaint in Rhode Island to challenge a Rhode Island state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements.

A group of drug manufacturers filed a complaint in Vermont to challenge a Vermont state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements.

In one case brought by a drug manufacturer challenging a Vermont state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, the plaintiff [...]

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This Week in 340B: November 11 – 17, 2025

by Emily Jane Cook, Reuben Bank, Matthew David, Abygail Hoey, Jae Hyun Lee, Sydney Merritt Martinez and Deepika Raj | Nov 19, 2025 | 340B
Find this week’s updates on 340B litigation to help you stay in the know on how 340B cases are developing across the country. Each week we comb through the dockets of more than 50 340B cases to provide you with a quick summary of relevant updates from the prior week in this industry-shaping body of litigation. Get more details on these 340B cases and all other material 340B cases pending in federal and state courts with the 340B Litigation Tracker.

Issues at Stake: Contract Pharmacy; Other

In three cases brought by drug manufacturers challenging an Oklahoma state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, defendants filed a notice of appeal.

In one case brought by a drug manufacturer challenging a Colorado state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, defendants filed a motion to dismiss.

In two consolidated cases brought by drug manufacturers challenging a Nebraska state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction and a brief in support thereof.

In two cases brought by drug manufacturers challenging a Utah state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, plaintiffs filed responses to the defendants’ notices of supplemental authority.

In one case by a trade association of drug manufacturers challenging a Rhode Island state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, plaintiff filed a reply in support of its motion for preliminary injunction.

In one case brought by a drug manufacturer challenging a North Dakota state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, defendants filed a cross motion for summary judgment.

In [...]

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This Week in 340B: November 4 – 10, 2025

by Emily Jane Cook, Reuben Bank and Sydney Merritt Martinez | Nov 12, 2025 | 340B
Find this week’s updates on 340B litigation to help you stay in the know on how 340B cases are developing across the country. Each week we comb through the dockets of more than 50 340B cases to provide you with a quick summary of relevant updates from the prior week in this industry-shaping body of litigation. Get more details on these 340B cases and all other material 340B cases pending in federal and state courts with the 340B Litigation Tracker.

Issues at Stake: Contract Pharmacy

In one case by a trade association of drug manufacturers challenging a Maine state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, the plaintiff filed a notice of supplemental authority in support of its motion for preliminary injunction.

In one case by a trade association of drug manufacturers challenging a Rhode Island state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, an amicus brief was filed in support of the defendant’s defense against plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction.

In one case brought by a drug manufacturer challenging a Colorado state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, the Plaintiff filed a reply in support of its motion for a preliminary injunction.

In three cases brought by drug manufacturers challenging a Utah state law governing contract pharmacy arrangements, the defendants filed notices of supplemental authority.

340B Rebate Models and Medicare Part D 340B Claims: What 340B Covered Entities Need to Know for 2026

by Emily Jane Cook | Nov 10, 2025 | 340B, Hospitals & Health Systems, Reimbursement
340B covered entities should carefully review the approved 340B rebate models and the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule provisions on new CMS processes for identifying Medicare Part D claims for 340B drugs.

While the current scope may seem limited or not applicable to certain 340B covered entities, now is the most important time to evaluate the implications of these programs if expanded to all 340B drugs and all 340B covered entities in order to ensure that the concerns of 340B covered entities are appropriately addressed.

340B Rebate Models

As a reminder, although the only drugs currently subject to the 340B rebate models are those that will be subject to the Medicare Part D negotiated prices, the 340B rebate models extend to all 340B covered entity types, all payors and all locations of dispensing/administration of the selected drugs. While the current 340B rebate models are being implemented under a “pilot program,” it is highly likely that 340B rebate models will be expanded to many more drugs in the coming years (possibly even during 2026).

Since the announcement of the approved 340B rebate models, the software platform that will be used for all rebate models approved to-date, Beacon, has released additional information about the implementation of the rebate models and details about operational aspect of the rebate models. All covered entities should familiarize themselves with the Beacon platform and rebate model as soon as possible and should be paying close attention to the [...]

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