Unfortunately the conference is an important one. Every small biotech goes after an invitation, like Carter, with something in his eye. Xoma must go if invited, but I agree the timing is awkward, as you so clearly and correctly point out.
Yes, Mike Murphy is saying, that he expects Xomas presentation to be good. Sort of implies they will or have been invited. Remember, last year when the early word was similar and in the end they did not go.
IMO the H & Q conference is a tool designed to make H & Q an even more attractive choice for anyone considering an underwriting. The conference will feature mainly those who have used H & Q as an investment banker, mainly as an underwriter. They of course invite the big names in an industry, even if they have never done business with H & Q.
I wish there was a better way to run a health care conference. I would like to see TSC, or thestreet.com, do this type of thing using some independent criteria for selection of who presents. In that case I would not even feel bad if XOMA ended up not presenting. Well not quite true, I would feel bad but understand the selection process had been fair. |
