Citigroup has named several new leaders across healthcare investment-banking coverage as the business aims to boost its standing among banking rivals and sharpen its edge in an active area of dealmaking.

The business has named new heads of North American biotechnology, medical technology, and biopharmaceuticals, among other healthcare subsectors in the region, Sumit Khedekar, Citi's global head of healthcare investment banking, told employees in a memo on Monday.

Biopharma and biotech "are among the largest growth opportunities for our healthcare franchise, especially in equity capital markets," Khedekar said in the memo viewed by Barron's.

Dealmakers are focusing on the sector as companies capitalize on medical advances across gene therapies, the popular weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1s, treatments for sleep disorders, and other areas.

Those innovations are helping to fuel investor appetite for public-market debuts and mergers and acquisitions. Bankers are looking to cash in. Healthcare is the second-most active sector for global M&A so far this year after tech, according to data provider Dealogic.

On Monday, for instance, Jazz Pharmaceuticals said it would acquire Actio Biosciences, which makes a drug that treats a rare form of epilepsy, in a deal valued up to $1.32 billion. Moelis advised Jazz while J.P. Morgan Securities and Centerview Partners advised Actio.

Healthcare is one of three high-growth sectors -- along with tech and industrials -- that Vis Raghavan, Citi's head of banking, outlined as a priority for his bankers during an investor presentation this past May.

Citi has worked on its share of large healthcare deals in recent months.

The bank recently advised the board of biopharma company AtaiBeckley in its acquisition by Eli Lilly, and it advised Indivior Pharmaceuticals as part of its merger with Supernus Pharmaceuticals. In 2025, Johnson & Johnson turned to Citi for advice on divesting its orthopedics business.

As part of a broader turnaround effort under Citi Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser, Khedekar, who joined the firm in 2022, is among the executives responsible for improving investment banking performance. The investment bank is targeting a larger share of the market globally, and in North America specifically, executives have said.

Khedekar announced a series of changes on his team on Monday:

   -- Brian McMahon was named North American head of medical technology, 
      reporting to Tai Hah, head of med-tech. 
 
   -- Bob Jones, a former healthcare executive and Goldman Sachs research 
      analyst who joined Citi in 2025, has been appointed as North American 
      head of managed care and distribution. 
 
   -- Jordan Termine has been appointed as North American head of acute and 
      post-acute care. 
 
   -- Andrew Pucher and John Whittaker are now co-heads of North American 
      biopharma, while Pucher will continue to work as head of healthcare for 
      the western U.S. 
 
   -- Lin Yan is now head of North American biotech. 
 
   -- James Nicholson is now vice chair of global biopharma, while longtime 
      Citi banker Ray Cooper will remain in his role as chair of healthcare 
      services.