Conference Reports
27th JP Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference
Westin St Francis Hotel, San Francisco, CA, USA, 12-15 January 2009
"What did we know?" This question was posed by Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan's Chairman and CEO, in his keynote speech on the opening day of this year's conference. And his answer? "We knew, but we didn't know how bad it would get."
In a year which has seen the crashing of many expectations
(and companies), particularly in the financial sector, it was
noticeable that this year's JP Morgan Healthcare meeting was
on the surface a considerably more muted affair, compared to
its more flamboyant predecessors. Gone were the large evening
networking receptions at the City Hall and on the Imperial
Floor of the Westin St Francis Hotel, to be replaced by
more low-key gatherings by invitation. Gone were the icecream
and popcorn at break times, to be replaced by more
strait-laced coffee and biscuits. However, in terms of sheer
delegate numbers and enthusiasm of presenting companies,
some aspects had certainly not diminished this year.
The general mood appeared staunchly upbeat despite adversity. Doug Branstein, JP Morgan's Head of Investment Banking, reminded delegates there were "excitement and positive things to look forward to in 2009", while admitting that overall, "2008 was not a year of positive returns." Perhaps the fact that the US pharma sector had only dropped by 18% compared to an estimate of 60% for the financial services sector kept any feelings of gloom and doom in perspective - though there was a tangible expectant air regarding forthcoming actions of the incumbent new US president and his administration.
Among the presentations from over 340 companies, there was a noticeable emphasis on 'robust' over the 'cutting-edge' in terms of pipelines, a focus on late clinical data rather than potential from the research/screening end, and much emphasis on the terms 'positive balance sheet' and 'potential for near-term revenue' from those companies lucky enough to boast these features. In terms of near-term revenue, the recent fashion for fast roll-out of novel fixed-dose combinations targeted at large patient populations was very much to the fore. Illustrative of this strategy was Orexigen, with two bupropion combinations in late clinical development, one for the moderately obese (Contrave, a combination with naltrexone at Phase III), and one targeted at severe obesity (Empatic, a zonisamide combination at Phase IIb). Late-stage clinical data for both combinations confirmed sustainable weight losses of over 10%, and importantly the low doses of both components resulted in a benign psychiatric profile, with no concerns such as suicidal ideation.
Where novel compounds were concerned, the targeting of unmet medical needs was very much to the fore as a selling point. Tranzyme, developing first-in-class targeted lowmolecular- weight macrocycles, is focused on niche gastrointestinal indications for which there are shortages of satisfactory therapeutics. Tranzyme's Phase II ghrelin agonist, TZP- 101, significantly accelerated recovery from post-operative ileus, resulting in recovery on day 3 after surgery, instead of day 4, with the added advantages of decreased nausea and vomiting. TZP-102, a quick-dissolving ghrelin agonist targeted at diabetic gastroparesis, showed high tolerability and oral bioavailability in Phase I trials - key features for a patient population where the few available drugs are notable for their problematic side-effects and varying effectiveness. Proof-of-concept Phase II trials are set to follow this quarter.
The antivirals company Idenix, keen to impress its audience by stressing its debt-free status, detailed further steps to maintain this position. Following on from the commercial success of telbivudine, launched for hepatitis-B in 2006, Idenix' current focus is on the major unmet medical need of direct hepatitis-C virus (HCV) inhibition. Idenix intends to have candidate drugs representing all major anti-HCV mechanisms in the clinic during 2009, presumably to maximise its chance of success in this area - and is seeking partners for its anti-HIV project, IDX-899, to focus resources on the anti-HCV push.
It was estimated on the opening day that over 6200 one-toone meetings had already been scheduled, with many more to be arranged. In a year likely to herald significant merger/acquisition activity and collaborations to keep projects afloat, it was clear that most delegates had an extra motivation to instigate and maintain friendly relations with potential partners and/or sources of funding, and it will be interesting to see how many deals emerge. And the take-home message? Again in the words of Jamie Dimon, "Those of you who need money. when you have the chance, take it!" It will be interesting to see how many of the current start-ups have the chance to take his advice and go on to survive the coming turmoil.
Janet Beal
Biotech Editor
