SAN FRANCISCO -- More than 4,000 investors, industry reps, and venture capitalists gathered Monday to schmooze about the very near -- and they hope very profitable -- future of online health care.
The Chase H&Q Healthcare Conference is the largest investment banking conference devoted solely to health care, and now officially, e-health.
"After the holiday season, is there anyone who does not believe in the power of the Internet?" said Chase chairman and CEO Bill Harrison. "The power of the Internet is real, and will continue to revolutionize how we [do everything]."
Highlighting the immense potential of the emerging biotech industry, this week's conference was a sea of sober business suits and conspicuous cell phone conversations. It was also a chance for more than 200 biotech, health care, and e-commerce firms, to strut their stuff to a roomful of money managers and investors.
As a record number of attendees jostled past each other in the hallways between presentations, many seized the opportunity afforded by the slow traffic to do a little bit of networking.
In one conference room, the CEOs of firms with lesser-known names like the Renal Care Group, familyMeds.com, and MyKidsDoctor.com discussed their potential.
Jeremy Goldberg, a venture capitalist at ProQuest Investments of Princeton, New Jersey, said that the annual H&Q conference was the best place to get a leg up on health care trends for 2000.
"It's not the same as meeting with people one on one," but "it's better than flying around the country," Goldberg said.
"This is the first chance of the new year for people to show their wares, get their buzz going, get their stocks up," he said. Investors often watch "where the crowds go" at this conference "to see where the opportunities are, identify the trends. The herd now thinks e-health is in."
In his keynote address, Chase's Harrison spoke glowingly about the influence the Net has had on the world and its promise for the health care industry.
"We are in the midst of a technological revolution that will exceed the agricultural and industrial revolutions in impact," he said.
"Chip technology and genomics will undoubtedly change the face of the industry," Harrison said. But it's too early to tell what the outcome will be. "We're only in the second inning of a nine-inning game."
