Just add fodder . . .

The spotted track record of biotech bank mergers has led to ample speculation on what Chase Manhattan has in store after its purchase of Hambrecht & Quist. So when H&Q Managing Director Dennis Purcell didn't show up at last week's BioPartnering Europe meeting in London, the rumor mill began to churn. The scuttlebutt was that Purcell was departing H&Q and that the firm was scrapping its upcoming high-profile health care conference.

Both stories, according to Purcell, are baseless. Purcell told Ebb & Flow that he missed the meeting because of his active financing calendar and several M&A deals that the firm has just taken on. "I just couldn't get two consecutive days off," he said...