Conference Reports
25th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference,
8th - 11th January 2007, San Francisco, CA.
The familiar setting of the elegant Westin St Francis Hotel once again welcomed an abundance of eager investors and hopeful pharmaceutical executives who gathered for the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. In bringing together both established and emerging innovative technology providers, plus global service providers and private investors, JP Morgan once again set the standard for biotechnology partnering, which as it is the longest running biotechnology conference is not too surprising.
This year saw a record turnout of over 200 companies and 7000 attendees, a fact which was reflected in the increased hustle, bustle and energy of the event. Despite the intensity of some parts of the event, some delegates were clearly not fazed, sitting attentively cross-legged on the floor at the foot of the speaker at the Alynylam presentation. The size and significance of the meeting was often noted by attendees, with one first-time attendee stating "this is the place to be, everybody is here", perfectly summing up the electric atmosphere of this highly-anticipated meeting.
The first few days started with a stream of compelling presentations, generating early enthusiasm for the days to come. Chemocentryx struck a positive note, providing information on an innovative new partnership with GSK to discover, develop and market novel antiinflammatory medicines targeting four chemokine receptors. Currently at the preclinical stage, this project is nonetheless generating a great deal of excitement. It also reported positive data on its Phase III compound Traficet-EN. In stark contrast came news from Telik regarding Telcyta (canfosfamide hydrochloride). Reporting preliminary data from three Phase III trials reviewed over the Christmas weekend, the despondent presenter highlighted what could not have been a happy holiday for Telik staff, who saw their company's shares plummet 70.7% to US $4.76 in one afternoon. In two trials, Telcyta failed the primary endpoints of prevention or slowing cancer recurrence in nsclc and ovarian cancer patients following chemotherapy. In the third trial, 25% of patients were controversially discontinued early, potentially compromising the study. On a more optimisictic note, Telik advised that pipeline candidate Telintra (TLK-199), at the Phase II stage, and new drugs in the pipeline such as TLK-58747, are both progressing well.
JP Morgan progressed in its characteristically quirky way, with suited professionals taking popcorn and ice lolly breaks, amid a hectic schedule of varied presentations revealing both successes and disappointments. Amongst the unfortunate latter was Dynavax, which reported disappointing Phase III results, in which a highly-anticipated ragweed allergy treatment encountered the unfortunate situation of none of its Phase III trial participants developing allergic symptoms to be treated in the 1st year of the 2 year trial. The news caused the share price to fall US $2.07 to $6.47 and trade as low as $5.11 on the 8th January. More positively, Human Genome Sciences reported successful completion of Phase II trials by Lymphostat B, an antibody licensed by GSK. Presented as a prospective blockbuster with potential for billion dollar revenues, this candidate naturally generated substantial interest.
The final day saw an unexpected presentation of breaking news from Seattle Genetics. In a substantial financial transaction, centred around an incredible US $600million up-front payment, it entered into a collaborative agreement with Genentech for its non- Hodgkin's lymphoma candidate, SGN-40. This promising deal not only provides a huge validation for Seattle Genetics' business model, but led to a large increase in share price from US $5.28 on 3rd January to $6.86 on 18th January. It proved a fitting end to the buzz of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.
With meeting attendance remaining high, and a plethora of emerging and established companies dominating the oral sessions, investors and service providers seemed innundated with business opportunities to take forward into 2007. The friendly atmosphere once again proved an excellent counterpart for JP Morgan's business-focused attitude, and the familiar hint of wittiness about the conference continued until the end, with Raven's presenter summing it all up in saying: "Blessed are those who stay until the end of the JP Morgan conference, for they shall inherit the earth". We can but hope.
The 26th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference will be held in San Francisco, CA, the US in January 2008.
Alix Biancardi
Pharmaprojects Analyst
