Pharma and biotech showcase at JP Morgan health conference
Opening today is the JP Morgan annual healthcare conference, a key date in the diary for leaders of pharma and biotech companies, who are all vying to dazzle investors with strong R&D pipelines and robust business strategies for 2015 and beyond.
The four-day conference gives each CEO just 30 minutes to make their pitch, with big pharma leaders addressing investors in the Grand Ballroom, and the smaller biotech and emerging pharma companies presenting in more modest conference rooms. Click here for a full agenda of the event.
2014 was a good year for the biotech sector, with the US FDA approving record numbers of biologics and unprecedented numbers of biotech IPO launches, so 2015 starts on a positive footing.
One of the companies kicking off proceedings will be Celgene, a US biotech company which has now grown to the size of a 'big pharma' company, thanks to its success in haemato-oncology - spectacular growth which investors are now asking it to maintain.
Another medium-sized company hoping to make it into the big time is Vertex, which is now focusing on its cystic fibrosis (CF) portfolio to help it grow. CEO Jeffrey Leiden will be detailing to investors how its application to gain approval for a combination of lumacaftor and ivacaftor, and continued geographic and label expansion of Kalydeco are progressing.
Some of the names to watch in 2015, according to JP Morgan's analyst teams, include Biogen Idec, Alexion, Shire and UCB.
For a more light-hearted take on what might be heard at the conference, check out Bruce Booth's blog post on the subject.
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