Here are 12 local biotechs with a lot to gain or lose at this weekend's ASH meeting

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Coming off news last month that the second drug in development by Agios Pharmaceuticals (CEO David Schenkein) appeared to have eliminated all signs of acute myeloid leukemia in a third of patients in a small, early-stage trial, Agios is set to announce data on its first- and third-most advanced drugs for blood cancers this weekend. The company will be giving two oral presentations on AG-221, also in AML, and AG-348, which is aimed at a rare anemia called pyruvate kinase deficiency. Given past data on Agios’ drugs, expectations (as well a share price) are already sky-high, and anything less than a continuation of great trial data could cause a stock decline.

Don Seiffert

BioFlash Editor- Boston Business Journal

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Medical conferences are kind of like playoffs in the biotech world: They attract a ton of attention from fans (investors), and are a chance for companies to show off their best players (potential drugs) and improve their record (stock price).

One of the biggest of the annual conferences will be held this weekend in San Francisco. Officially called the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, or ASH, the December event is ground zero for all things blood-related. Naturally, that covers a lot of ground, including every local company working on treatments for various kinds of blood cancers, from large, long-standing ones like ImmunoGen (Nasdaq: IMGN) and Ariad Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARIA), to recently public firms like Epizyme (Nasdaq: EPZM) and Agios Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AGIO). Also attending will be several rare disease firms, notably bluebird bio (Nasdaq: BLUE) and Acceleron Pharma (Nasdaq: XLRN).

Of all the local biotech firms making the trek out west this week, none will be more closely watched than two that both went public in 2013. Both could result in significant stock boosts or losses if the results aren't up to investors' expectations. Karyopharm Therapeutics (Nasdaq: KPTI) will give much-anticipated trial data for its drug, selinexor, in two types of blood cancer, multiple myeloma and aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Agios will give early-stage trial data for two of its three main cancer drugs, AG-221, which have already fueled a meteoric rise in stock price for the company this year.

While most of the companies presenting are publicly traded, a few — such as Promedior, a Lexington biotech working on fibrosis treatments — are not.

Click on the photo of Agios CEO David Schenkein (to the right, or above on a mobile device) for a rundown, interspersed with some commentary from analysts, of some the largest local biotech firms who will be giving either oral presentations (which are most prestigious) or else will display posters of data in an attempt to attract funding.