Some of the biggest names in biotechnology, including Amgen, Moderna, and Sarepta Therapeutics, have pulled out of the upcoming J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco due to safety and travel concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to people close to the companies. Additional biopharma companies are weighing whether to do the same.
J.P. Morgan, one of Wall Street’s largest investment banks and the organizer of what is the biggest conference on biotech’s calendar, has insisted that CEOs attend the January event in person, resisting calls to allow for virtual presentations. That has pushed some companies, wary of the close-quarters interactions the meeting is known for, to break with decades of tradition.
‘The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is an important event for the biotech industry,’ Sarepta Chief Financial Officer Ian Estepan said in a statement to STAT. ‘As we all try to safely navigate Covid-19, providing a virtual option for the conference would help mitigate the risk of transmission and exposure while allowing for the collective desire to return to normalcy.’
advertisement A spokesperson for J.P. Morgan on Tuesday said she was reviewing STAT’s request for comment. The conference is scheduled to run Jan. 10-13. Giving up a spot at J.P. Morgan — and potentially offending the powerful bank — is no small decision, but the prospect of participating in what could become a superspreader event has forced companies into difficult conversations.
advertisement Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, among the most influential companies in biotech, is ‘teetering’ on pulling out of the conference, a spokesperson said. The company is giving J.P. Morgan until next week to allow for virtual presentations before deciding whether to back out entirely, according to Christine Lindenboom, Alnylam’s head of communications.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is having a similar internal debate, according to a person close to the company.
Moderna has pulled out over the health risks of sending employees to the crowded hallways of J.P. Morgan’s cramped venue, the Westin St. Francis Hotel, according to a person close to the company. Like other biotech firms, Moderna would reconsider presenting at the conference if J.P. Morgan allowed its executives to attend virtually, the person said. Amgen decided to withdraw for the same reason as Moderna, confirmed a source at the company.
In a normal year, some 10,000 people descend on San Francisco for what’s known as ‘JPM week,’ a flurry of events and meetings often only tenuously connected to the actual J.P. Morgan conference. In January 2021, with Covid-19 vaccines not yet widely available, the bank held an all-virtual meeting.
J.P. Morgan’s hard line on attending the 2022 incarnation comes despite rising alarm over the Omicron variant, which appears to be more infectious than other strains of SARS-CoV-2. Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases are on the rise in San Francisco and across California.
The Parc 55, a San Francisco hotel with more than 1,000 rooms, has indefinitely suspended operations, according to an automated phone greeting. The hotel canceled one biotech company’s block of rooms reserved for the week of J.P. Morgan, according to a person close to the company.
https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/14/moderna-amgen-among-biotech-heavyweights-pulling-out-of-jpm-conference-over-covid-concerns/
