JPMorgan Chase has confirmed their annual healthcare conference in January will take place virtually, reported CNBC Dec. 15.
Biopharmaceutical companies Moderna and Amgen earlier stated they would not attend the in-person conference. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals CEO John Maraganore, PhD, wrote on Twitter Dec. 14 that the conference should go virtual to avoid a PR disaster and a super-spreader event, although he said was never planning to attend.
Bloomberg reported Dec. 14 that JPMorgan employees had been fielding calls from concerned members of the healthcare industry, and some companies had been asking discretely for virtual access to the conference's main presentations.
Now, JPMorgan has changed course and switched the conference to a virtual format. The company emailed attendees the news Dec. 15.
"Out of an abundance of caution and after careful consideration, we have decided to virtualize our 40th annual JPMorgan healthcare conference. The health and safety of our clients and employees is of the utmost importance, and given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have made this decision," read the email.