A week after Vivus Inc. CEO Leland Wilson praised the FDA during a breakout session at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference, the agency's request for more data about the incidence of birth defects in children born to women using topiramate, a component in obesity treatment Qnexa (phentermine/topiramate), shook the company's stock and plans for August FDA approval and a late 2011 launch.
SAN FRANCISCO – If there was a trifecta for biotechs developing new weight-loss therapies, presentations by Vivus Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. Wednesday at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference would have given you a pretty good idea of who to pick for win, place and show.
SAN FRANCISCO – Not long after George Scangos took over as Biogen Idec Inc. CEO last summer, he felt the need to clarify the company's culture. "We can be small pharma or a big biotech," he told attendees at the J. P. Morgan Healthcare conference during a late Tuesday presentation.
SAN FRANCISCO – Before there even was a J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference – and this is the 29th – there was Amgen Inc., founded in 1980, and Genzyme Corp., founded in 1981. When two of the corporate godfathers of biotech present on the same morning, people take notice; it's the industry's version of Arnold Palmer and Gary Player hitting honorary tee shots at the Master's.
SAN FRANCISCO – Cephalon Inc.'s new CEO J. Kevin Buchi told attendees at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference that he knew what many people would think when they saw a press release about positive interim results from an ongoing multicenter Phase II trial of its "off-the-shelf" adult stem cell product Revascor for patients with congestive heart failure.
SAN FRANCISCO – The good news was that the 29th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference kicked off Monday in San Francisco with 8,680 registered attendees, 1,400 more than last year – a sign that economic recovery is, if not here, then maybe not far away.
SAN FRANCISCO – The mood of the biotech sector is "up," and with it avid participation is anticipated at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference, which kicks off here today and runs through Thursday.
