Beyond the Conference—What “Going to JPM” Has Meant Through the Years

By Sue Nemetz

For my entire career in life sciences, the annual January investor conference, known by many different names but now simply referred to as “JPM,” has been a significant focal point. When I was coming up the ranks, it was the time and place the senior executives focused on to tell the company story. As I became more senior, I had to ensure my commercial story and market data were analyst-proof. Then, as a founder of The NemetzGroup, a life sciences consulting firm, we knew to expect the crescendo of pressure during each preceding November and December as our clients desperately needed our support to finalize their commercial story or, in some cases, do the critical homework to help them make the story digestible, especially regarding the commercial opportunity of the “best-in-class, life-saving” therapies they were prepared to pitch.

The first year I went alone to JPM in that consultant capacity, I found it both daunting and uncomfortable. During the networking events, it was a challenge to break into conversations, especially since I wasn’t explicitly looking for funding but seeking ways to connect and see how my firm could offer help. I remember walking into Union Square on a sunny day in my first year and seeing a sea of men in suits – intimidating doesn’t begin to describe the feeling. I also didn’t know that the real connections for the non-presenters come at the receptions. How does one snag an invite to those events, I wondered? That year, I also realized that most of the people I was seeing were life science executives from Boston—people who I could see IN Boston, but it is different there vs. here.

Then COVID hit, and we all shifted inward to remote working while in-person conferences and events took a back seat for a few years. With The NemetzGroup well-established, my entrepreneurial attention was focused on starting a new company and building Corval, our commercialization and launch planning technology solution. Even though informing and supporting the build of the commercial story has still been a priority at both The NemetzGroup and Corval, my human interactions today are primarily virtual and often internal. Even on the consulting side, the days of on-site, in-person meetings are limited, which can be tough for those of us who get energy from people interactions.

When I went to JPM last year, I registered for one of the satellite content conferences (there are many excellent ones), attended several receptions (including one we co-sponsored with several other fun life sciences firms), and had the opportunity to have focused time with friends and colleagues in my network. Sure, I could meet with some of them in Boston, but with busy schedules, we don’t seem to find the time. That year, I also met executives at a company who saw and appreciated the value Corval brings to the commercialization planning and launch technology space, and lo’ and behold, we closed a significant deal for both of us this past year. There is nothing like a face-to-face conversation to expand one’s awareness and understanding of how we can help one another achieve our business goals.

As I prepare for JPM this year, I feel excited to reconnect with new and past friends from my network. To replenish the people energy that has been lost by so much WFH Zoom time, see my daughter who lives out there, and dodge the wet weather and cold virus that is very likely to literally rain on our parade.

I understand many industry veterans are skeptical about the value of JPM—it is wildly expensive (trust me I know as I pay for it myself) and nearly impossible to find hotel rooms or available Ubers. I imagine this skepticism or hesitancy comes from one’s expectations regarding demonstrable ROI. For me, in a year of tumultuous biotech, entrepreneurial, world, US, and community news, this brief time in San Francisco is a warranted and joyful opportunity to reconnect, toast the hard work we all dedicate to this industry, and maybe find some decent wine at a reception. Chardonnay please!

Happy New Year – see you in San Francisco!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Don’t miss a single step to getting your treatment to patients in need. Corval’s technology provides the clarity and guidance to navigate the commercialization and launch planning journey. Click Why Corval to learn more.