PrintThe drug reorganization act in Germany known as AMNOG places new requirements on pharmaceutical companies to provide justification for their pricing. The new value assessment process is already causing companies to reconsider whether or not to launch new products in what is the largest pharmaceutical market in Europe. We spoke to Achim Diedenhofen, founder and partner of the consulting firm Executive Insight, about the new law, what it means to pharmaceutical revenues, and how companies will need to think about rolling out their drugs in Europe going forward.
Podcasts
ARCHIVE : 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
The Burril Report (October 10, 2011): German Law Has Companies Weighing Whether to Sell New Drugs in Europe's Largest Market (.MP3,13.18 Mb)
The Burrill Report (October 3, 2011): Pressures on Medtech Forcing New Approaches (.MP3,12.07 Mb)
The environment for medtech companies has grown riskier with new pressures being felt from investors, regulators, and payers. While these pressures are putting the ability of the industry to develop innovative new products at risk, they are also demanding that companies to think beyond their traditional ways of operating to form new relationships with payers, providers, and patients. We spoke to John Babitt, Ernst & Young’s Medtech Leader for the Americas, about his firm new report on the industry, the pressures medtech companies are feeling, and what it will take for a company to be successful this changing environment.
The Burrill Report (September 26, 2011): What Patent Reforms Means for Biotech (.MP3,13.49 Mb)
The America Invents Act, signed into law earlier this month, has been hailed as the most significant reform of the Patent Act since 1952. Among other things, the new law seeks to better harmonize the U.S. system with other systems around the globe, speed the pace of patent reviews, and cut down on litigation. We spoke to Courtenay Brinckerhoff, partner with Foley & Lardner and editor of the Foley blog PharmaPatentsBlog.com, about the new law, what it means for life sciences companies, and whether it will fix what was broken.
The Burrill Report (September 19, 2011): Pushing Policies in a Changed Washington (.MP3,15.09 Mb)
The Biotechnology Industry Organization at its annual convention at the end of June introduced an ambitious policy agenda for the next five years. Its intent, among other things, is to reduce the risk of investing in biotechnology companies and make the sector more attractive to investors. Less than three months later, as the trade group meets with legislators, much seems changed in both the financial markets and in the policy arena. We spoke to Alan Eisenberg, executive vice president of emerging companies and business development at BIO, about its policy roadmap, how new challenges created by the capital markets and the political environment in the last few months might alter its plans, and what it will take to get these policies implemented.
The Burrill Report (September 12, 2011): GPhA's New CEO Faces Range of Challenges (.MP3,16.34 Mb)
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association named Ralph Neas as its new president and CEO. Neas, who most recently served CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, has a long history in Washington as a civil rights advocate. He comes to his new post at a time when the generic drug industry faces a number of crucial issues including patent reform, fights with the Federal Trade Commission over so-called pay-for-delay settlements, the institution of FDA user fees for generic drugs, and the crafting of a pathway for biosimilars. We spoke to Bob Billings, vice president of policy for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, about the selection of Neas, the challenges ahead, and how much longer there will be a generic drug industry distinct from the branded pharmaceutical industry.
The Burrill Report (September 6, 2011): A Look at the Surge in FDA Approvals (.MP3,14.64 Mb)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August continued its stepped up pace of approving new drugs with important targeted therapeutics approved for Roche, Pfizer, and Seattle Genetics. There’s been a significant increase in new drug approvals in 2011 and the industry appears to be breaking out from its anemic pace of approvals in recent years. We spoke to Ira Loss, executive vice president and senior healthcare analyst at Washington Analysis, about what’s driving the increase, whether there’s been real changes at the FDA or within industry to account for it, and what’s ahead that could help, or hinder, the trend.
The Burrill Report (August 29, 2011): What the Market's Turmoil Means for Biotech Stocks (.MP3,30.42 Mb)
The market turmoil in August triggered by the debt ceiling debate in the United States, debt worries in Europe, and the lackluster economy, has taken a hard toll on the biotech sector. The market activity of the last month has wiped away gains from earlier in the year and drowned out what’s been a year of positive developments for the industry. We spoke to David Miller, president and CEO of Biotech Stock Research, about the market activity, his outlook for the sector, and what it will take to renew investor enthusiasm in biotech stocks.
The Burrill Report (August 22, 2011): Smoothing Personalized Medicine's Ragged Edge (.MP3,13.99 Mb)
Companion diagnostics used to identify patients who will benefit from specific targeted therapies is raising a growing ethical issue as such treatments proliferate and cost pressures on healthcare systems intensify. How should we, and who should, decide where to draw the line on precisely how responsive a patient will to be to qualify to receive a given therapy? We spoke to Leonard Fleck, a professor at the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University, about how such decisions will be made, the need to balance the interests of individual patients with societal costs, and what it will take to smooth the ragged edge of personalized medicine.
The Burrill Report (August 15, 2011): Med Device Industry Balks at IOM Advice to FDA (.MP3,12.38 Mb)
The Institute of Medicine at the end of July issued a report that calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to scrap a 35-year-old process for approving medical devices not considered to b e high-risk. The report says the current process cannot assure that devices reaching the market are safe and effective. We spoke to Steve Ubl, president and CEO of the medical device trade group Advamed, about the report, why the industry thinks the IOM got it wrong, and where the FDA goes from here on revamping its approach to regulating medical devices.
The Burrill Report (August 8, 2011): Doctors Say They Are Ill-Prepared for Personalized Medicine (.MP3,14.76 Mb)
Physicians in the United States expect personalized medicine to become part of everyday clinical practice, but a new survey finds they feel ill-prepared to address the day-to-day challenges of this rapidly emerging area. The healthcare communications firm CAHG queried 800 U.S. physicians about their attitudes towards personalized medicine. They found only about 20 percent of doctors received personalized medicine education in medical school. Among those who graduated within the past five years, less than half received such training. We spoke to Jerry Coamey, senior vice president and practice leader for personalized healthcare at CAHG, about the survey, how doctors view personalized medicine, and what barriers are in place that are slowing broader adoption.
The Burrill Report (August 1, 2011): Getting the Prevent Defense to Pay Off (.MP3,11.53 Mb)
Prevention has long been touted as a key to bringing the rising costs of healthcare under control, but makers of diagnostics that promise to deliver early warnings of developing disease face challenges with getting doctors to use their tests and payers to reimburse them for the value they provide. Tethys Biosciences, a maker of a predictive test that it says can tell patients their likelihood of developing diabetes within five years, is now armed with a new economic analysis that provides it with a cost-benefits argument for use of its PreDx diagnostic. We spoke to Mickey Urdea, chairman, co-founder and chief scientific officer of the company, about the new study, how the company’s strategy has evolved, and what it will take to incorporate personalized medicine routinely into medical practice.
The Burrill Report (July 25, 2011): Defining When a Medical App is a Regulated App (.MP3,11.6 Mb)
Medical apps, a wide range of software and web services for mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, promise to help usher in an era of personalized healthcare and change the way doctors and patients interact with each other. One concern has been a lack in clarity over regulatory issues surrounding how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will approach this emerging area. We spoke to Joe Smith, chief medical and science officer for the Gary & Mary West Wireless Health Institute, about new draft guidance from the FDA on medical apps, how the agency is approaching these products, and whether this provides the clarity needed to promote investment and innovation in this new world of digital health.
The Burrill Report (July 18, 2011): Expanding Personalized Medicine in Psychiatry (.MP3,12.32 Mb)
Each year, more than 25 million Americans are treated for a mental health disorder, and doctors write more than 200 million prescriptions for antidepressants. Yet, the failure rate for these medications can be as high as 50 percent and doctors often engage in a process of trial and error to find a drug that is both safe and effective for a given patient. AssureRx Health’s GeneSightRx is a genetic test that analyzes individual patients’ genetic variants to see how they will respond to psychiatric drugs. We spoke to Jim Burns, CEO of AssureRx, about the company’s test, the problems it addresses, and what it will take to get doctors and payers to embrace it.
The Burrill Report (July 11, 2011): Ensuring QB3 Innovation Creates Jobs (.MP3,12.05 Mb)
The University of California’s QB3, a multi-campus research institute leveraging the quantitative sciences to solve large problems of biology, has been working with Deloitte to develop a strategic plan to help it better meet its goals of supporting and training a new generation multi-disciplinary bioscientists, translating academic research into products that benefit patients, and fuel California’s economy. We spoke to Matthew Hudes, U.S. managing principal of biotechnology for Deloitte about the strategic plan, the growing importance of academic-industry alliance in the biopharmaceutical industry, and the changing attitude about the role of the university and ensuring innovation is harnessed as an engine of job growth.
The Burrill Report(July 4, 2011): Comparative Effectiveness Research Brings Industry to a Defining Moment (.MP3,12.81 Mb)
Healthcare reform legislation passed in the United States in 2010 included provisions for $1.1 billion to fund comparative effectiveness research. A new report from The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions argues that in a new value-driven healthcare system, drug and device makers will need to offer technologies that demonstrate real value to payers, providers, and patients. We spoke to Terry Hisey, vice chairman and U.S. life sciences industry leader for Deloitte, about the state of comparative effectiveness research in the United States, how it compares to other countries that have long applied measures of value to drugs and devices, and how it will force companies to think differently about the development process.
The Burrill Report (June 27, 2011): A Rare Disease Pioneer Scores $45 Million for New Company (.MP3,12.49 Mb)
When Emil Kakkis was a researcher at Harbor UCLA developing what would become the first enzyme replacement therapy, a treatment for the rare and fatal lysosomal storage disorder MPS1, he says pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t give him the time of day, let alone funding. The treatment was eventually developed and marketed as Aldurazyme by BioMarin and its partner Genzyme. Kakkis went on to serve in various positions at BioMarin over 11 years including chief medical officer. But he’s just raised $45 million for UltraGenyx, a new company he formed to develop treatments for rare diseases. We spoke to Kakkis about his ambitious plans for Ultragenyx, why he thinks he can produce 10 drugs in 10 years, and why Big Pharma is suddenly interested in rare disease.
The Burrill Report (June 20, 2011): Why $25 Billion Just Doesn't Seem to Go That Far Anymore (.MP3,12.42 Mb)
Life Sciences companies raised $25 billion in funding in 2010, returning the industry to financing levels not seen since the global financial crisis. But a new report says those numbers obscure reality. Large debt financings swelled the numbers and the growing use of tranched investments have made it increasingly difficult to track the actual money going to fund innovative biotechnology companies. Ernst & Young in its newly released annual report Beyond Borders says by its calculations, once large debt financings are removed from the totals, the amount of capital to fund innovation is actually down 20 percent from 2009. What’s more, 20 percent of the companies garnered more than 80 percent of the funding. We spoke to Glen Giovannetti, global biotechnology leader for Ernst & Young, about the new report, what the numbers are telling us, and what can be done to ensure the industry sustains innovation.
The Burrill Report (June 13, 2011): Supreme Court Ruling Delivers Lesson to Universities on IP Agreements (.MP3,14.22 Mb)
A closely watched patent infringement case before the U.S. Supreme Court raised concerns over its effects on the future of the Bayh-Dole Act, the landmark legislation credited with fueling technology transfer between the academic and private sector. The case of Stanford v. Roche centered on the work of a researcher who had assigned rights relating to a blood test to measure the presence of HIV to both Stanford University and Cetus, which was later acquired by Roche. We spoke to Gene Quinn, a patent attorney and president of IPWatchdog, about the court’s ruling, the issues underlying the case, and the implications for the future of academic-industry agreements.
The Burrill Report (June 6, 2011): Industry Says FDA is Forcing MedTech Innovation Overseas (.MP3,12.18 Mb)
The threat posed by the high cost and lack of predictability of FDA regulation of medical devices was the subject of a Congressional hearing June 2. The hearing came as the Medical Device User Fee Act faces renewal in 2012. David Gollaher, president and CEO of the California Healthcare Institute, provided testimony on the issues of concern to the medtech industry over the FDA process of reviewing new devices and its impact on competitiveness. We spoke to Gollaher about his testimony, the growing frustration medtech companies have with the agency, and why these companies are increasingly looking overseas to bring their products to market first.
The Burrill Report (May 31, 2011): Industry Readies to Descend on Washington for BIO Convention (.MP3,15.23 Mb)
More than 15,000 people from around the globe are expected to gather in Washington, D.C. at the end of June for the annual conference where they go to make deals, raise money, and understand the forces reshaping the industry. The annual gathering is taking place in the nation’s capital at a time when a number of policy issues are prominent on biotech’s radar. We spoke to Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of BIO about the state of the industry, the issues of greatest concern, and what to expect this year at the industry’s largest gathering.
The Burrill Report (May 23, 2011): Wall Street Looks for Signs of Life at ASCO (.MP3,11.84 Mb)
The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology or ASCO kicks off June 3 in Chicago. More than 30,000 people in the oncology field will gather for more than 4,000 presentations of clinical data. Though this is a scientific conference, it’s one that Wall Street watches closely. We spoke to Adam Feuerstein, senior columnist for TheStreet.com, about the upcoming meeting, what buzz the early release of abstracts is creating, and what companies he’ll be watching.
The Burrill Report (May 16, 2011): An $800 Billion Genomics Payoff (.MP3,11.23 Mb)
The tenth anniversary of the publication of the draft of the human genome brought a flurry of critical press reports and commentaries about how the government project failed to deliver expected returns, but a new analysis from Battelle suggest otherwise. It finds the government’s $3.8 billion investment has delivered a nearly $800 billion economic impact. In 2010, genomics research and industry activity generated $67 billion in U.S. economic output and supported 310,000 jobs. We spoke to Simon Tripp, senior director of Battelle's technology partnership practice, about the impact of the human genome project, its tangible returns, and why he calls it “arguably the single most influential investment to have been made in modern science.”
The Burrill Report (May 9, 2011): Stem Cell Injunction Lifted, but Fight Remains (.MP3,11.92 Mb)
A U.S. Court of Appeals recently overturned a lower court’s injunction that barred federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. That injunction was first put into place in August 2010 after two adult stem cell researchers brought suit saying NIH funding of human embryonic stem cell research violated the Dickey-Wicker amendment, which bars federal funding of research that destroys human embyos. We spoke to Bernie Siegel, executive director of the Genetics Policy Institute, about the significance of the latest ruling, the threat to human embryonic stem cell research that remains in place, and how efforts to halt the research continue in states such as Minnesota and Oklahoma.
The Burrill Report (May 2, 2011): Changing Medical Research through Social Media (.MP3,12.89 Mb)
While the findings of a new study published in the journal Nature Biotechology on the use of lithium in patients with the neurodegenerative disease ALS is meaningful, its real significance lies in how the trial was conducted. The findings, based on data contributed by more than 500 members of the health information sharing website PatientsLikeMe, refuted an earlier study that suggested lithium could slow the progression of ALS. We spoke to Jamie Heywood, chairman and co-founder of PatientsLikeMe, about the study, how it came about, and what it says about the role social media could play in changing the way clinical trials are conducted.
The Burrill Report (April 25, 2011): Fighting Off Pharma’s Demise (.MP3,12.96 Mb)
Big Pharma is facing challenges ranging from the loss of patent protection on blockbuster drugs to declining R&D productivity. We caught up to former Genentech president and COO Myrtle Potter at the BayBio 2011 conference, where she spoke on the unprecedented pressures drugmakers face and what the industry needs to do restore itself to past glory. Potter, who now consults the industry through her firm Myrtle Potter Inc., discussed the problems pharmaceutical companies face today, the opportunities that’s been created for biotech, and things drug developers can do to more efficiently spend their R&D dollars and avoid late-stage blow-ups.
The Burrill Report (April 18, 2011): Avoiding a Medical Meltdown (.MP3,14.14 Mb)
Over the next 10 to 20 years, writes Richard Barker in his new book 2030, The Future of Medicine, “I believe healthcare is headed for its own meltdown.” Barker, who has served in leadership roles in the life sciences in the Untied States and Europe, discusses the forces at work that are driving healthcare systems to collapse and how we can avoid disaster. We spoke to Barker about the impending crisis, what can be done to address the problems, and why he is generally optimistic about the future.
The Burrill Report (April 11, 2011): Financing and Dealmaking Activity Soar in China (.MP3,9.42 Mb)
The market in China for life sciences IPOs ignited in 2009 and has been on a tear ever since with companies in the sector raising $5.9 billion in 2010 alone. The feverish activity isn’t limited just to new issues, but can also be seen in a surge in everything from venture financings to merger and acquisition activity. We spoke to Greg Scott, president and founder of the consulting firm ChinaBio and publisher of ChinaBio Today, about the emergence of China as a life sciences powerhouse, what’s driving the activity, and the transformation of China as merely a source of cheap labor into a provider of innovative new drugs.
The Burrill Report (April 4, 2011): Getting Back on Track (.MP3,11.95 Mb)
Cynapsus Therapeutics is a small Canadian specialty pharma trying to reinvent itself. Under Anthony Giovinazzo, who took the helm at the end of 2009, the company has a new name and new focus. It’s hoping that its reformulation of an existing treatment for Parkinson’s disease can put it on a fast path to revenue with limited investment. We spoke to Giovinazzo about the company’s strategy, the advantages of its reformulated version of the long-standing drug apomorphine, and what lessons can be drawn from the company’s approach.
The Burrill Report (March 28, 2011): Why Big Pharma's Got Executive Compensation All Wrong (.MP3,13.57 Mb)
Over the past decade large pharmaceutical companies have experienced an enormous loss of value. But as the pressure increases to introduce innovative new products to replace revenue being lost to competition from generic drugs, corporate boards have done little to alter executive compensation away from traditional financial metrics to new incentives that align compensation with the ultimate drivers of a pharmaceutical company’s business. We spoke to Matt Gurin, vice president and life sciences specialists at the management consulting firm HayGroup, about Big Pharma’s approach to executive compensation, why it’s not working, and what these companies could learn from smaller biotechs.
The Burrill Report (March 21, 2011): Alzheimer's Fuels a Healthcare Crisis (.MP3,11.93 Mb)
As the first of the Baby Boomers turns 65 this year, a grim new report finds that 5.4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and that that number could triple by 2050 in the absence medical breakthroughs to slow or reverse the disease. With the rise in the incidence of Alzheimer’s, so too will the economic toll grow reaching $1.1 trillion a year if left unchecked, the Alzheimer’s Association reports. We spoke to Maria Carrillo, senior director of medical and scientific relations, about the new report, why its been so difficult to develop drugs to treat the disease, and what needs to be done to address the growing crisis.
The Burrill Report (March 14, 2011): Heretical Mathematics: Why R&D; Cost May Be Overstated (.MP3,19.86 Mb)
The high cost of drug development in many ways defines the pharmaceutical industry. The oft-quoted figure from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development most recently puts the number at $1.3 billion to bring a new drug to market. But a new study argues that amount is grossly inflated and suggests that the typical drug cost a fraction of the Tuft’s calculation. We spoke to Donald Light and Rebecca Warburton, authors of the study that appears in The London School of Economics and Political Science’s journal BioSocieties. We discussed what they see as the flaws with Tufts' numbers, how they went about calculating their own set of figures, and why it’s in the policy interests of the industry to find a way to keep that number as big as possible.
The Burrill Report (March 7, 2011): Looking Back to See Ahead (.MP3,12.73 Mb)
This week we’ve gathered the lead editorial team from The Burrill Report to discuss Biotech 2011: Looking Back to See Ahead, Burrill & Company’s 25th annual report on the life sciences industry. Peter Winter, Marie Daghlian, Michael Fitzhugh, and Daniel Levine discuss some of the most surprising findings from this year’s book and what’s ahead for the biotech industry.
The Burrill Report (February 28, 2011): A Supply Chain Reaction (.MP3,10.91 Mb)
As the pharmaceutical industry moves away from an era defined by blockbusters, its products are becoming more diverse and the markets it serves global. While companies have put great investment into rebuilding their pipelines and expanding into emerging markets, a new report from PwC says they have neglected the implications these changes will have on manufacturing, distribution, and other links in the supply chain. We spoke to Wynn Bailey, partner in the pharmaceuticals and life sciences advisory practice of PwC, about the changes taking place in the industry, how prepared companies for the downstream consequences of them, and the choices they will face in the years ahead.
The Burrill Report (February 21, 2011): Why Pharma's Future Will Be Selling Results (.MP3,14.21 Mb)
Pharmaceutical companies need to prepare for a new world in which instead of getting paid for drugs, they will be paid for outcomes. So argues Ernst & Young in its latest annual report on the pharmaceutical industry. We spoke to Carolyn Buck Luce, Global pharmaceutical sector leader for Ernst & Young, about how changes to the healthcare landscape and a shift in power to payors is opening the door to non-traditional healthcare companies, forcing pharmaceutical companies to develop digital health strategies, and changing the very idea of what it means to be a drug company today.
The Burrill Report (February 14, 2011): Transforming Healthcare Bit by Bit (.MP3,11.75 Mb)
The healthcare system is very good at generating data. Making use of the data is another story. As electronic medical records become common, doctors will be able to harness them to personalize care for patients. At the same time, the experiences of large patient populations can be analyzed to guide healthcare systems on how best to improve care and cut costs. We spoke to Richard Noffsinger, CEO of the healthcare analytics company Anvita Health, about the state of data collection in healthcare, how data is used today, and how digitalization promises to transform all of that data into actionable information.
The Burrill Report (February 7, 2011): Searching for a Faster Exit (.MP3,12.33 Mb)
The long time and high cost of drug development has investors and entrepreneurs searching for new business models that will provide them with lower risk and greater predictability. Jim Posada, founder and CEO of Resolve Therapeutics, thinks he’s got a solution. Resolve has licensed from the University of Washington a promising experimental drug to treat lupus. The plan is to take the drug into the clinic and carry it through a proof of concept study where it can be licensed to a pharmaceutical partner. Posada figures it will take about three years and $12 million to get there. With success or failure, the company’s life will essentially end at that point. We spoke to Posada about his plans for Resolve, the changes in capital markets that led to this approach, and why betting it all on a single asset may actually provide less risk than conventional company building.
The Burrill Report (January 31, 2011): The (Medical) Revolution Will Be Televised (.MP3,14.75 Mb)
By using ubiquitous technologies such as the Internet, mobile phones, and video conferencing, doctors are bridging the gulf of geography to bring their expertise to patients in remote areas. So called telehealth is addressing issues of access, cost, and delivery, while also improving outcomes for patients. We spoke to Tom Nesbitt, director of the Center for Health and Technology for the UC Davis Health System, about telehealth, how it’s addressing critical problems in healthcare today, and how it promises to revolutionize care, not only in developed nations, but in developing nation’s as well.
Tne Burrill Report (January 24, 2011): Medical Technology Innovation Shifting to Emerging Markets (.MP3,18.04 Mb)
While the United States continues to lead the world in producing new medical technology, emerging markets led by China, India and Brazil are closing the innovation gap, according to a new report from PwC. The changes are driven by a confluence of factors including regulatory uncertainty and cost pressures in the United States and the growth of academic medical centers, greater investment in research programs and the return of foreign-educated scientists and doctors to their emerging markets homelands. We spoke to Chris Wasden, managing director of strategy and innovation for PwC, about the report, why new medical technology will likely become available in other markets before the United States, and why U.S. companies may have a difficult time embracing the type of disruptive innovation that the markets both here and abroad will demand
The Burrill Report (January 17, 2011): Making Cancer Research Personalized and Actionable (.MP3,18.53 Mb)
Marty Tenenbaum’s own experience with cancer taught him much about the need patients and doctors have for information about the treatment of the disease that is both personalized and actionable. One lesson from molecular biology is that cancer is not a heterogeneous disease. Tenenbaum is hoping to capture data from patients who have failed available therapies and instead are being treated with off-label use of cancer drugs. To that end, he created the nonprofit Cancer Commons. The effort seeks to capture data that can allow researchers, doctors, and patients to learn as much as possible from individual patient experiences and help them match a growing arsenal of targeted therapeutics to the needs of individual cancer patients based on their subtype of the disease. We spoke to Tenenbaum about his new initiative, how his own experiences led to its formation; and how it may change the way researchers, patients, and doctors approach cancer.
The Burrill Report (January 10, 2011): JPMorgan Raises the Curtain on 2011 (.MP3,17.85 Mb)
Biotech investors and executives will be gathering in San Francisco January 10 through 13 for the annual JPMorgan Healthcare conference, which traditionally kicks off the new year for the industry. There are some reasons to expect a more upbeat meeting this year as uncertainty recedes and prospects for the sector continue to improve. We spoke to Adam Feuerstein, senior columnist for TheStreet.com, about the upcoming conference, the companies to which he’ll be paying most attention, and what he’ll be looking for to tell him about what to expect in the year ahead.
.gif)
