Taking an extra day off to extend the long weekend before we go into a very busy period.
Possibly a week from today (Friday) Genentech could get word from the Food and Drug Administration on its cancer drug Avastin for breast cancer. The agency could approve it, reject it or delay making a decision. An advisory committee voted 5-4 against recommending approval, but many analysts and investors think the FDA could still say "yes."
The following week Johnson and Johnson and Theravance go before an FDA panel seeking recommendations for approval of their individual new drugs for MRSA--what many have taken to calling the "superbug".
On March 5th Pfizer is holding a big meeting with analysts and investors. I've made a formal request for an interview there with Chairman and CEO Jeff Kindler. He hasn't done a CNBC interview since November 2006, so we'll see what happens.
March 13th is a big day for Amgen and to a lesser extent for JNJ. An FDA panel takes up possibly recommending new restrictions on the use of their embattled anemia drugs for cancer patients dealing with the side effects of chemo.
The day after that Genentech meets with Wall Street in NYC.
And then at the end of March there's the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago. That's where we're waiting to hear if Merck and Schering-Plough will present the controversial data on their cholesterol drug Vytorin.
And that's just what's on the calender. Lately, we've been bombarded by a bunch of unexpected news--i.e. FDA "warnings" about Allergan's Botox and Pfizer's Chantix.
Never a dull moment. Enjoy the three-day weekend.
Questions? Comments? Pharma@cnbc.com