Table of Contents
Brief
I spent the last three months interviewing top CEOs in the life sciences. Vital Signs was published in every copy of Fortune magazine in North America on December 1, 2024, and is a feature length project produced by Onyx Newsroom to share key healthcare voices with the world ahead of JPM Week 2025.
Some of their interviews are online now, and the rest all will be in the weeks to come. You can also sign up to my newsletter below. There is a lot to achieve in healthcare in 2025, and a lot of change on the horizon. We'll be reporting live. Looking forward to see you in San Francisco!
- Dr. Adil Ali, Editor-in-Chief
Intro
The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco has endured earthquakes, pampered presidents, and even facilitated early meetings of the United Nations in 1945. And for the last 42 years, this grand old hotel has hosted an annual event of truly global significance. The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, colloquially known as JPM Week, is where big bucks and big pharma meet ambitious biotech CEOs.
Many in the industry see it as a State of the Union for healthcare—and the time to make big bets on winners and losers for the year ahead. In 2024, GLP-1 agonists dominated the conversation. In 2025, what will be the next big thing in healthcare? Ahead of JPM Week 2025 (Jan. 13–16), the Onyx Newsroom team interviewed CEOs from around the world. Here is our compilation of the top talking points.
These are the healthcare leaders to follow in 2025, and we explain what they’re working on. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, scientists, entrepreneurs, a Grammy award winner, and Alphabet’s health-tech boss, who first found fame as a gamer—the brightest stars in healthcare. Want to know what they’ve got planned for the year ahead?
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To stay informed as we go into JPM Week 2025, stick with us!
36 CEOs to Watch in 2025
Row 1. Left to Right:
1. Sarah Boyce (Avidity Biosciences)
2. Fabian Gerlinghaus (Cellares)
3. Alec Ford (Karius)
4. Terrie Curran (Phathom Pharmaceuticals)
5. Chris Gibson (Recursion Pharmaceuticals)
6. Helmy Eltoukhy (Guardant Health)
Row 2. Left to Right:
1. Jo Varshney (VeriSIM Life)
2. John A. Scarlett (Geron)
3. Julie Ross (Advanced Clinical)
4. Kendalle Burlin O’Connell (MassBio)
5. Mike Exton (Lexicon Pharmaceuticals)
6. Martin Tolar (Alzheon)
Row 3. Left to Right:
1. Neil Warma (Mongoose Bio)
2. Jonathan Brennan-Badal (Opentrons)
3. Patrick Mooney (SpyGlass Pharma)
4. Paula Brown Stafford (Allucent)
5. Colleen Cutcliffe (Pendulum Therapeutics)
6. Ken Mariash (Sinaptica Therapeutics)
Row 1. Left to Right:
1. Gaurav Shah (Rocket Pharmaceuticals)
2. Richard Adcock (ImmunityBio)
3. Tom Lin (Belite Bio)
4. Stephen Gillett (Verily)
5. Shankar Musunuri (Ocugen)
6. Rick Modi (Affinia Therapeutics)
Row 2. Left to Right:
1. Ron Cooper (enGene)
2. Bhaskar Sambasivan (Saama)
3. Adrian Gottschalk (Foghorn Therapeutics)
4. Tamer Mohamed (Aspect Biosystems)
5. Warner Biddle (Kyverna Therapeutics)
6. Peter DeYoung (Piramal Pharma)
Row 3. Left to Right:
1. Jasbir Seehra (Keros Therapeutics)
2. David Horn (CFO, Seer)
3. Charles Conroy (Nucleus RadioPharma)
4. Sarah Kennedy (Calocurb)
5. Thijs Spoor (Perspective Therapeutics)
6. Laurent Fischer (Adverum Biotechnologies)
