Biotech Execs Get Ready to Take Center Stage

If you're coming to San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan H&Q health care conference Monday, pack a raincoat and a sturdy umbrella. El Nino is wreaking havoc out here on the Left Coast!

Every year, this gathering of Wall Street's health care tribe sets the table for the next 12 months. Last January, of course, "H&Q" -- as the cognoscenti still call it -- was dominated by ImClone (IMCL Quote - Cramer on IMCL - Stock Picks). I'll never forget the sight of then-CEO Sam Waksal making his first public appearance (post-FDA rejection) in front of hundreds of irate fund managers. What a circus, and it certainly cast a pall on the rest of the year.

I'll try to be positive and say that because we don't have an ImClone-esque drama ready to slap us in the face at this year's H&Q, biotech and drug sectors might just emerge from the gathering with a sunnier disposition. But at the same time, there seems to be a lack of excitement about next week's confab, judging by some rather blase comments I'm hearing from fund managers (some of whom are, surprisingly, not even making the trip). The pain of a truly horrible 2002 may still be fresh in everyone's mind.

That said, I reviewed the list of presenting companies (smaller than in years past, by the way) and saw the makings for some interesting investment ideas.

Stepping Up to the Podium

Let's start with InterMune(ITMN Quote - Cramer on ITMN - Stock Picks). The big question is whether the company can translate what appear to be positive data on its drug Actimmune, used for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, into actual sales. Investors will get the first hint of an answer when the company releases fourth-quarter results later in January. But at H&Q, InterMune execs will be watched closely as they provide more detailed Actimmune guidance for 2003.

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