Why Biotech’s Clinical Maturity Is Driving New Partnerships and Capacity Plays

*Full transcript available below

Michael De Marco, PhD, head of commercial development, Integrated Biologics, Lonza, spoke with BioPharm International® prior to the start of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, occurring Jan. 12–15, 2026, in San Francisco, to discuss what major trends and challenges he expects may be addressed at the conference this year.

Dr. De Marco positions the conference as both a networking hub and a market intelligence engine, emphasizing direct engagement with clients and partners as core to companies’ strategy. As he puts it, “The main purpose why we are there is to meet many clients, but of course, also to learn more about the market competition.”

How are geopolitics and clinical maturity transforming biologics manufacturing and partnerships?

A central takeaway is the shift toward regional supply strategies driven by geopolitical uncertainty and the need for more resilient biologics manufacturing networks, Dr. De Marco emphasizes. He expects concrete announcements at the conference on capacity expansions, not only in large-scale manufacturing but also across research capabilities.

Another key theme is the maturing biotech pipeline. While not all pipelines are growing, a “really big group of very successful biotech companies” is advancing deeper into the clinic, Dr. De Marco states. This is likely to translate into updates on potential launches over the next 12–18 months, he notes, signaling an approaching wave of new biologic therapies reaching the market.

Finally, Dr. De Marco anticipates hearing of new partnerships, acquisitions, and strategic alliances—or at least credible rumors of such activities—as consolidators and innovators respond to these structural shifts in biologics demand, supply, and clinical progress.

Lonza will give a talk at the conference on Tuesday morning at 10:30 AM.

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Transcript

Editor's note: This transcript is a direct, unedited rendering of the original audio/video content. It may contain errors, informal language, or omissions as spoken in the original recording.

Speaker 1

I'm Michael DeMarco. I'm heading commercial development within lonza, integrated biologics platform, where I have the pleasure of working alongside colleagues who bring their expertise to help the risks and accelerate the past to clinic and market for innovative biologic therapies. So first of all, our CEO gives a talk on Tuesday morning at 10:30; otherwise, I mean, it's a great opportunity to meet many clients partners, and we use this at a networking and meeting event.

So I'm looking forward to this conference. The main purpose why we are there is to meet many clients, but of course, also to learn more about the market competition and so on. I mean, just thinking about the growing industry, thinking about the geopolitical situation, and therefore also changes in in the supply strategy to more regional supply strategies here and there, at least, I expect we will hear about announcements and capacity for manufacturing, but also for research, given also the fact that companies growing bigger, But not all pipelines are growing bigger, but you have a really big group of very successful biotech companies, and we have seen a few of these events already last year. I'm expecting also the one on the other, announcement of maybe new partnerships acquisitions, or at least rumors about it. And last but not least, I think many of our biotech clients, but also of companies in the industry, they're getting more and more mature in their clinical journey. So I'm expecting also some updates on potential launches, so that new therapies will hit the market, then in the next 12 to 18 months. Yeah.