THE JP MORGAN HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE- TO ATTEND OR NOT TO ATTEND? THAT IS THE QUESTION

Well you wouldn't have to be Hamlet to work that one out.

​More than 10,000 attendees ranging from the leading US specialist life sciences investors to the best known and most highly regarded research analysts and a gaggle of share brokers, media and other hangers-on provide an ideal audience for companies operating in the biotech space.
 
All are brought together around San Francisco's Union Square district within talking distance of the conference's Westin St. Francis hub.  
 
For those who are yet to put their toe into the Bay, the JP Morgan conference is a mandatory affair.  This year the official four-day schedule runs from Sunday, January 10 to Wednesday, January 13 but many players make a full week of it.
 
And the JPM event may be the least consequential for most of those present, apart from the big pharma groups.
 
The other conferences that have sprung up around it, notably the Biotech Showcase nearby at the Hilton Park 55 have become equally prestigious.
 
However the most important time spent will be at the ancillary hook-ups that come from the social receptions surrounding the official functions and informal meetings that result.
 
Hotel lobby introductions and elevator business card exchanges can prove just as useful.
 
Make sure to bring plenty of presentations and comfortable shoes.