NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry

I spent most of the day yesterday at the NewsMakers in the Biotech Industy show where I attended presentations made by some of the biotech companies I have positions in and some companies that I am considering taking a position in.

I would like to do several posts on what I learned while I was there and will start with some general observations:

1) Most of these companies are not yet profitable.

2) Many of these firms have recently accessed the capital markets to improve their
capitalization or reduce their debt load.

3) While many of these firms are looking for treatments for common diseases with a huge potential market (cancer for instance), some of these companies are looking for treatments for smaller markets (treatment for "dry eye" for example) where there might be less revenue potential, but there are fewer competitors.

The companies whose presentations I attended were:
1) Jazz Pharma (JAZZ)
2) Cell Therapeutics (CTIC)
3) Dendreon (DNDN)
4) Inspire Pharma (ISPH)
5) PDL Biopharma (PDLI)

My next few posts will detail what these companies had to say.