As the biotech M&A activity continues to surge, the weight-loss drug market keeps expanding, and artificial intelligence garners widespread attention, the upcoming J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference holds even more significance. Scheduled to commence on Monday in San Francisco, CA, this four-day event is set to draw over 80,000 attendees, including representatives from leading drugmakers, emerging companies, and large financial firms.

“Things are looking up for the first time in a long time,” remarked healthcare investor and CEO of Loncar Investments, Brad Loncar, to Bloomberg.

Pharma and biotech deal-making witnessed a 38% and 45% rise in value from the previous year, respectively, despite a slight drop in quantity, as reported by the London Stock Exchange Group. Mike Gaito, JPMorgan’s global head of healthcare investment banking, expressed optimism, stating, “We’ve had an uptick of M&A recently, we’re seeing stocks rebound with the market recovery and interest rates lowering.”

The pharmaceutical industry has witnessed the meteoric rise of a new class of weight-loss drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists, with major drugmakers like Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) leading the charge. Additionally, a new class of cancer therapeutics called antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) has been making headlines with substantial deal-making.

Commenting on healthcare technology and distribution, J.P. Morgan analysts led by Anne Samuel highlighted AI as a key theme at this year’s event. Even AI-driven biotechs have witnessed record gains amid investments from the likes of Nvidia (NVDA).

Notable participants at the JPM event include Amgen(AMGN), BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT), AbbVie (ABBV), Teva (TEVA), Bristol Myers (NYSE:BMY), Viatris (VTRS), and many other leading players in the healthcare and health equipment sectors.