JPMorgan Heats up January with 34th Annual Healthcare Conference

With attendance by invitation only, and very little public information available, one might ask if the 34th Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is worth the hype.
In short: yes. With more than 300 companies set to attend, and nearly 4,000 investors, analysts and industry watchers expected to flock to San Francisco’s Bay Area, the conference is a big deal. Scheduled for January 11 to 14 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, the conference will be a space for attendees to “search for vital signs on stock values and potential initial public offerings and watch for new product debuts.”

What can investors can expect?

2015 will be a tough year to beat when it comes to success in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the healthcare sector. Indeed, PR firm Edelman states that in 2015, healthcare M&A exceeded 2014 totals by a transaction volume of $687.5 million, making healthcare the most active M&A sector for the year.

With a plethora of companies exhibiting, there are big hopes for this year’s conference. Edelman states that of particular interest will be Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) presentation, in which the company is expected to discuss its integration with Allergan. Meanwhile, Shire (NASDAQ:SHPG) will also be of interest, particularly in light of takeover talks pertaining to six-month-old Baxalta (NYSE:BXLT).
Investors should also be keeping an ear out for discussions regarding the pricing and value of newer specialty products. Given the recent pricing debacle that occurred when Turing Pharmaceuticals jacked up prices for AIDS drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent, companies will undoubtedly come under fire to explain their pricing methods.

Can’t make it to the conference?

Getting into JPMorgan’s exclusive conference is a tough feat, but since its inception, several satellite conferences have set up shop in the surrounding area to piggyback off the influx of biotech and pharma brainpower to be found in the area. Investors may be interested in checking out some of these parallel events.
One of them is the 9th Annual OneMedForum, set to take place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in San Francisco from January 11 to 13. This private investment conference is geared at OneMed research clients, and only investors who have pre-registered are eligible to have one-on-one meetings with the companies in attendance.
Heading into its eighth year, the Biotechnology Showcase is an investor and networking conference aimed at giving private and public biotech and life sciences companies an opportunity to showcase their pipelines, and meet with investors and other pharmaceutical executives. The Biotechnology Showcase is a three-day event that will take place from January 11 to 13 at the Parc 55 in San Francisco.

Taking place at Marine’s Memorial Club & Hotel on January 12, Life Science Nation’s Redefining Early Stage Investments conference is where early stage investors, fundraising CEOs, scientist-entrepreneurs, strategic partners and service providers can find a place to connect.
 
Securities Disclosure: I, Vivien Diniz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.