Baird Hosts Small Cap Health Care Conference : Senior Healthcare Distribution & Services Research Analyst Eric Coldwell Shares Insights ...( Baird will h...),Health

Baird will host its first Small Cap Health Care Conference at the Intercontinental The Barclay in New York on September 10. The conference will focus on premier small cap public and private health care companies in the following areas: Biotechnology, Distribution and Services, Life Sciences and Diagnostics, Medical Technology and Specialty Pharmaceuticals.

NEW YORK (Business Wire EON) September 9, 2008 -- "While Baird has hosted small cap conferences in the past, this is our first focused exclusively on health care companies. Baird is a leading source of investment information on small cap companies in this industry," said Director of Research Robert Venable. "This year's conference is timely as investors seek to understand how the election will impact health care."

Q&A with Senior Health Care Research Analyst Eric Coldwell, CFA

As a preview to the conference, Baird spoke with senior research analyst Eric Coldwell about some of the factors affecting the health care industry. Coldwell covers large and small companies in the industry and discussed issues affecting companies of all sizes.

The overall environment has been challenging for health care. What is causing this?

We are operating in one of the most challenging environments with implications that ripple throughout the industry. The government is scrutinizing safety and costs. Outsourcing is becoming more important as pharmaceutical and biotech companies struggle to accelerate increasingly complex R&D programs while minimizing the build out of fixed infrastructure. When challenged, the industry must seek alternative mechanisms for profitability.

Pharmaceutical companies have been in a bear market for close to seven years. How does that impact the industry?

While pharmaceutical companies may have been in a bear market for seven years, Contract R
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