Notes from the Floor: Biotech Showcase, Day 1

Monday (January 7) marked the first day of the Biotech Showcase in San Francisco, and the Investing News Network (INN) was in attendance to provide investors with coverage. 

The conference, which is taking place between January 7 to January 9, and represents one of the busiest times of the year for the biotech industry as it aligns with the JP Morgan Healthcare conference at the same time, also in San Fransisco.

Public and private companies in attendance present information to investors and experts alike at the Biotech Showcase. Panels and other meetings at the conference also provide the opportunity to hear from experts about the state of the biotech industry. Continue reading below for more on what happened of the first day of the show.

INN attended company presentations, daily plenaries and even interviewed several companies. A few companies we spoke with on the first day include Tenax Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TENX), BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCLI) and Cytosorbents (NASDAQ:CTSO).

The first panel to start the conference was the “Investing in next gen immunotherapies: Moving the checkpoint inhibitors to the next level.” Included in this panel were Jeffrey M. Bockman, executive vice president of oncology practice head at Cello Health BioConsulting as moderator, and panelists Asthika Goonewardene, senior biotechnology analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, and Bibhash Mukhopadhyay, principal at New Enterprise Associates among many others.

First panel to kick off #BiotechShowase! Grab your seat @Asthika @Bloomberg @NEA pic.twitter.com/QU1qa0MSZX

— EBD Group (@EBDgroup) January 7, 2019

Another industry update taking place during the morning at the conference was the “Cell & Gene Therapy State of the Industry Briefing.”

Packed house for the state of gene therapy in 2019. Let’s start the predictions! #BiotechShowcase pic.twitter.com/zC7jhc9Lai

— Timothy Siegert (@timsiegert) January 7, 2019

Company presentations followed these industry and introductory updates at the conference. Some of the presentations INN attended include Outlook Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OTLK) and PLX Pharma (NASDAQ:PLXP) to name a few.

@PlxPharma drug #Vazalore seeks to improve the efficacy of #Aspirin by preventing the negative GI effects and more, says CEO Natasha Giordano at the #BiotechShowcase pic.twitter.com/S6MOj4GI4i

— INN Life Science (@INN_LifeScience) January 7, 2019

Afternoon panels that INN attended include: “The booming biotech ecosystem: The playing field has evolved, and the bases are loaded. How long will the streak continue?” The lively discussion focused on big topics current in the biotech industry, such as drug pricing, going public versus private and financing for early-stage companies.

We’re in the best era to build a drug, said Dr. James Sabry, global head of Pharma partnering at @Roche said at the #BiotechShowcase lunch plenary today pic.twitter.com/2w5KZY7kj9

— INN Life Science (@INN_LifeScience) January 7, 2019

It’s really important to think about the products launch years ahead, during development Michelle Keefe with @SyneosHealth said during the #BiotechShowcase lunch plenary about the booming biotech ecosystem.

— INN Life Science (@INN_LifeScience) January 7, 2019

Pricing will affect all of us in the long run, these are important civil concerns said Dr. James Sabry, global head of Pharma partnering at @Roche said at the #BiotechShowcase lunch plenary

— INN Life Science (@INN_LifeScience) January 7, 2019

The Biotech Showcase continues until Wednesday and the INN team will be on the floor reporting each day of the show. Stay tuned for more updates from the show and tweets at @INN_Lifescience.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle Lakusta, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.