
#JPM22 goes virtual, caving to pressure after a wave of big drugmakers pull out due to Omicron fears
Well, see you in January 2023.
In a surprise about-face, #JPM22 will now be fully virtual after organizers of the popular biotech conference decided to pull the plug on a live event in San Francisco given fears over the Omicron variant and a growing chorus of drugmakers opting out.
The move is no big surprise after reports swirled about some of the industry’s biggest players nixing plans to attend live and pressuring the bank to reconsider the annual meet at the Westin St. Francis. STAT reported Tuesday that Moderna and Amgen, among other large drugmakers, had already pulled out.
But the decision will put a damper on biopharma’s new year. #JPM22 was envisioned as biopharma’s return to the new normal after the previous year’s conference was all virtual amid the height of the pandemic.
With live plans now canceled, Endpoints News has also made the decision to take its multi-day hybrid event schedule fully virtual. That means no live cocktail hour or networking events, but we will still be bringing you the biggest news surrounding the conference as well as insightful panels and fireside chats previewing the new year.
We’ll be sad to not see our friends and colleagues on site, but we encourage everyone to still register for the event and join the conversation. This year, even as Omicron swirls, is setting up to be a big one for the industry, and we’ll have some of the biggest names out there giving us their takes on what’s next.
See you next year.