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The biggest healthcare industry conference of the year opened Monday with a wave of announcements and partnerships, but no blockbuster biotech acquisitions.

That could be a disappointment to investors, who had been hoping for a busy 2022 for biotech M&A. The sector performed miserably last year and into early January.

The first morning of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is often a stage for big pharmaceutical companies to unveil major deals. On the first day of 2019s conference, for example, Eli Lilly (ticker: LLY) announced the $8 billion acquisition of Loxo Oncology.

Nothing like that has happened yet on Monday morning. With the Biotech sell off accelerating in the first week of January, the lack of any M&A at JPM is unwelcome news for anyone long the space, Jefferies healthcare equity strategist Will Sevush wrote in a note to investors early Monday.

While investors hoping for a big biotech acquisition may be disappointed, there has been plenty of healthcare news announced to coincide with the start of the conference. Here are some highlights so far.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com

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J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Starts With Lots of Deals, No Blockbuster M&A - Barron's