Despite Delays, JPM 2017 Still Pays Off For Me
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL
For the second year in a row my travel plans to the biopharmaceutical industry’s yearly kickoff event — the 35th Annual J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco —was disrupted by weather. And though I once again arrived a day late, there was still plenty to keep me busy during JPM. For example, I still had the opportunity to sit in breakout Q&A sessions involving Alkermes, BMS, Chimerix, GSK, Mylan NV, and Shire. I witnessed company presentations that included AbbVie, CSL Limited, and IDEXX (just to name a few). I attended keynotes involving the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, who provided an update on the Cancer Moonshot initiative. I heard political consultants Karl Rove and James Carville debate the pros and cons of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. I even had the opportunity to hear Juan Enriquez, co-author of Evolving Ourselves, share his insights on the next species of human. And while this may seem like a lot, it really only scratches the surface as to the amount of activity that takes place during JPM in January.
Ever Heard Of BioWeekSF?
In readying for JPM this year, I came across a new term (for me at least) used to describe the annual west coast sojourn — BioWeekSF. Though I had never previously heard JPM referred to in this way, given the amount of colocated events (e.g., Biotech Showcase, RESI, along with about a dozen or so others conferences), the term does seem to fit. For though JPM was the original reason for why so many people in biopharma first began gathering in San Francisco in early January, there now seems to be so much more. Big3Bio, an organization that covers developments within the life sciences industry’s “Big 3” regions (i.e., Boston, San Francisco, and San Diego), even put together a helpful BioWeekSF 2017 guide, which you should be on the lookout for when making plans to attend next year. (BIO also puts together a comprehensive list of useful JPM information). Maybe next year I can find another event to participate in prior to JPM 2018 (Jan. 8 – 11) to minimize the likelihood of being late three years in a row. Another useful resource is a comprehensive list of the 80+ receptions and networking opportunities taking place during JPM. While I prefer to be invited and RSVP to receptions in advance, it is always a good idea to keep your plans somewhat flexible, especially when you consider that more than 30,000 investors, company executives, analysts, bankers, journalists, and other industry interested parties will be in town seeking to network. And while BioWeekSF offers a lot for consideration, my preference is to spend a majority of my time within the walls of the Westin St. Francis (the annual JPM host hotel). For when you factor in 400+ scheduled company presentations, along with another 400+ breakout Q&As, JPM truly provides an unprecedented opportunity to connect with biopharma’s biggest leaders.
Connecting, Collaborating, And Contributing
Life Science Leader (LSL) magazine’s mission is to, “Connect the people, ideas, and organizations needed to advance the development of pharmaceuticals, biologics, diagnostics, and medical devices that improve the human condition so that they can be brought to market in a safe and cost-effective manner.” To be sure, JPM provides unique opportunities for LSL to be able to fulfill its mission. But it also affords the same for many industry stakeholders. For example, while waiting to attend the keynote involving James Carville and Karl Rove, I was standing next to a woman reading emails on her phone. Once she was finished, I asked her what she hoped to learn by attending the upcoming talk. During our conversation we realized that we had met before. Her name was Laura Shawver, CEO of Cleave Biosciences, and the subject of a 2012 article in Life Science Leader magazine. Only a few years ago Shawver was struggling just to get her company funded, and now here she was actually presenting on day four of JPM. And while many companies often measure how they are doing by where and when they present during JPM (i.e., the earlier in the conference and the bigger the room the better), it all starts with first getting invited to present at biopharma’s biggest investor showcase. While I imagine Shawver would tell you that finding funding requires nearly 24/7 attention, perhaps presenting during JPM will make this year’s quest a little less arduous.
Another interesting observation came when attending the Acadia Pharmaceuticals breakout Q&A. As I entered the room, I noticed an executive leadership team member from a top 10 Big Pharma seated at the back. As the Acadia leadership team fielded questions, this head of R&D took more than two and a half pages of notes. Now, Acadia is neither working on rare diseases, nor developing oncology drugs (two of our industry’s hottest sectors). However, their efforts in some much-broader maladies (e.g., major depressive disorder, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia) certainly seemed to capture the interest of this executive, not to mention the other folks crammed into a standing-room-only breakout room. Having done some post-event research, I couldn’t find any public information indicating a direct link or business deal currently in the works between Acadia and this top 10 Big Pharma, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see some sort of collaboration between the two in the very near future.
During JPM I had the opportunity to connect with CSL Limited's CEO Paul Perreault (the subject of an upcoming feature article in our February 2017 issue), as well as Vivek Ramaswamy, CEO of Roivant Sciences (a company primed to spin out numerous biopharmaceutical startups built on the deprioritized products of other pharmaceutical company pipelines). I had the opportunity to ask what was the most important lesson learned by Heather Bresch (Mylan CEO who became the 2016 target of media scorn for her company’s EpiPen pricing practices). JPM afforded me the opportunity to ask Shire CEO Flemming Ornskov, M.D. how he intends to prevent his company’s culture from “getting sick,” a rather tough task when you consider that the number of people it employs grew by nearly four times just last year.
Why BioWeekSF Exists
Upon reflection I did note something different about this year’s annual meeting. In previous years while sitting in overcrowded breakout rooms awaiting company leadership to field questions, I often overheard someone suggest that J.P. Morgan should consider moving the event to a bigger venue. This year, I don’t recall overhearing anyone make such a proposal. And though a bigger venue might be more convenient for attendees, a move away from the Westin St. Francis would take away from the charm that has become JPM. For while there are some that prefer to refer to our industry’s annual kickoff as BioWeekSF, which certainly has a lot to offer, the reason it has grown to the size and scale it has is not in spite of JPM, but because of it.