Investment Bank Brinson Patrick Comes to San Diego
Brinson Patrick, an investment banking boutique focused on helping public companies raise equity capital, announced today that the company has opened a San Diego office to provide life science companies with access to Brinson Patrick's alternative financing facility. The new office, located in the UTC area, will be led by life science investment and finance veterans Jack Florio and Gregory Hanson.
The Brinson Patrick office in San Diego will introduce publicly traded companies in the region to the company's DOCS® (Dynamic Offering of Common Stock) financing facility, which has established the firm's reputation as an industry innovator. Developed by Brinson Patrick more than 12 years ago, the DOCS financing facility is a highly-efficient approach to tapping capital markets that companies seeking increased control and flexibility over the process of raising equity capital have utilized successfully.
More than 20 companies in the energy, life science, real estate, specialty finance, and hospitality industries have established a Brinson Patrick DOCS financing facility. In addition to offering greater control, flexibility and discretion, Brinson Patrick's approach is less expensive than many other forms of equity offerings and minimizes impact on stock price. Through the DOCS financing facility, Brinson Patrick enables issuers to efficiently raise capital over time as they need it, the company says.
On October 27, Wyche will participate in a panel at the annual BIOCOM Investor Conference titled, "Alternative Financing: Raising Money in Today's Marketplace." He and other Brinson Patrick executives, including Florio and Hanson, will be available throughout the conference to discuss Brinson Patrick's DOCS financing facility. To register for the conference, which will take place at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla, go to www.biocom.org.
Brinson Patrick Securities Corporation is an investment banking boutique serving the equity capital raising needs of publicly traded companies, from small cap to Fortune 500. For more than a decade, Brinson Patrick has worked closely with its clients to cost-effectively raise capital when and how they need it, with little or no impact on stock price. Brinson Patrick is a FINRA and SIPC member broker-dealer with offices in New York and California. More information about Brinson Patrick can be found online at www.brinsonpatrick.com.
Genoptix Tops Deloitte's Fast 50 List
Genoptix Inc. tops the list of the fastest growing companies in San Diego as recognized by Deloitte LLP at an award event held October 10 at the Grand Del Mar Resort. The "San Diego Technology Fast 50," an annual award program, ranks technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies located in San Diego by percentage revenue growth over five years.
Founded in 1999, Genoptix has been profitable since the first quarter of 2007 and completed its initial public offering in November 2007. Genoptix is a specialized laboratory service provider focused on delivering personalized and comprehensive diagnostic services to optimize the care of patients suffering from blood and bone marrow cancers at community-based hematologists and oncologists.
Genoptix reported revenues of $59.3 million, $24.0 million, $5.2 million, $0.7 million and $0.2 million in 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively. To accommodate its growth, the company is currently expanding its laboratory space by approximately 75 percent and plans to move its corporate office to a headquarters building adjacent to its laboratory facility in Carlsbad, Calif., by the end of December 2008. Genoptix expects to occupy approximately 100,000 square feet of laboratory and office space by year end.
Companies are selected based on percentage revenue growth over five years from 2003 to 2007. To be considered, Technology Fast 50 entrants must: have operating revenues of at least $50,000 in 2003 and at least $5,000,000 in 2007; be headquartered in San Diego; own proprietary technology or proprietary intellectual property that contributes to a significant portion of its operating revenues, or devote a significant proportion of revenues to the research and development of technology. Using other companies' technology or intellectual property in a unique way does not qualify. Subsidiaries and divisions are not eligible, unless they have some public ownership and are separately traded.
Please click here to read the full list of Fast 50 Winners in San Diego County. The Orange County Fast 50 is still pending.
Other BIOCOM members in the San Diego Fast 50 list included:
RankCompany
6. Illumina Inc.
10. Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc.
11. Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
13. Alphatec Holdings Inc.
16. NuVasive Inc.
17. Nanogen Inc.
20. SkinMedica Inc.
23. Prometheus Laboratories Inc.
25. Althea Technologies Inc.
29. ResMed Inc.
34. QUALCOMM Inc.
38. Gen-Probe Inc.
39. SGX Pharmaceuticals Inc.
40. Senomyx Inc.
44. Invitrogen Corporation
46. Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.
49. Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc.
50. Sequenom Inc.
IT Update: Saving Energy With Your PC
With energy concerns on the rise, it is now more important than ever to reduce wasted energy. The question is: how can you help? One simple and effective way is to cut down the costs exerted by computers at your home and office. Here are some great tips that will save energy, save you money, and give you peace of mind knowing you are helping your environment.
- Make sure your monitor automatically turns off after 20-30 minutes. Having a screensaver does not reduce energy usage of the monitor!
- Consider upgrading from traditional CRT monitors to an LCD. An LCD monitor uses about one third the energy of a CRT. They also take up much less room, giving your home or office a cleaner, more professional look.
- Enable automatic standyby or sleep mode for your computer. Power usage drops to single digits when your computer is in this mode.
- Turn off your computer! At the end of the day, the best way to save energy is by using none. Don't leave on your computer if it doesn't have to be.
- Use a laptop. Laptops are designed specifically to use a very small amount of energy. They use a fraction of what a full size PC uses.
By making some small changes, you can make a huge difference in the amount of energy used by your computers. For any questions about making your office more energy efficient, feel free to give Perfect Integration a call. We have more cost savings tips and implementation strategies that can drastically show cost saving results on your office's energy expenses. Contact ktacla@perfectintegration or justin@perfectintegration.com and schedule your free phone consultation today!
Final Environmental Impact Report On Sunrise Powerlink Released
Following a comprehensive three-year review process, the final decision on the Sunrise Powerlink is expected by the end of 2008.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the Final Environmental Impact Report for the transmission line. The Final EIR provides environmental information to decision-makers and does not make a recommendation to either approve or deny the Sunrise Powerlink.
Click here to read the Final Environmental Impact Report.
As expected, CPUC staff said in the report that building 800 megawatts of new fossil-fueled power plants in San Diego would have fewer environmental impacts than importing clean, renewable electricity via the Sunrise Powerlink. This option is inconsistent with California's clean energy plans that call for a steep increase in the use of renewable energy and less greenhouse gas emissions.
BLM, on the other-hand, selected the southern route alternative for the Sunrise Powerlink that avoids the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park as its preferred option.
SDG&E has been working with numerous governmental agencies and stakeholders to find the best route for the transmission line. What's clear though is the benefits of the Sunrise Powerlink are far more important than a particular route. The Sunrise Powerlink will improve energy reliability for our customers and deliver enough clean, renewable electricity to power up to 650,000 homes.
If the CPUC ultimately selects a buildable southern route for the Sunrise Powerlink that avoids the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and connects San Diego and Imperial Counties, SDG&E will support that final decision. The southern route alternative outlined in the Final EIR that avoids the state park looks very promising and we're working hard to remove any remaining obstacles.
Given the state's drive to increase renewable power and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, SDG&E is hopeful the CPUC will agree that our region must have a new transmission line - the Sunrise Powerlink - to access vast supplies of solar, wind and geothermal power located east of San Diego, while at the same time improving our region's energy reliability.
Please email the CPUC (public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov) and Governor Schwarzenegger (governor@governor.ca.gov) and let them know you support the Sunrise Powerlink.
Cook & Schmid, Gable PR and Porter Novelli Life Sciences Recognized at PRSA Awards
Life science public relations firms Cook & Schmid, Gable PR and Porter Novelli Life Sciences received multiple and various awards at the 16th Annual Edward L. Bernays Awards Program, put on by the San Diego chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
The winning entries, in alphabetical order by firm, included:
Cook & Schmid
Cook & Schmid were recognized for their multi-year public affairs campaign developed for the Mountain Area Safety Taskforce in San Bernardino County, which previously has been recognized with 11 awards by PRSA national, the American Marketing Association, and the Missouri School of Journalism, among others.
Cook & Schmid received the Silver Bernays Award of Merit for its public education program developed for the Mountain Area Safety Taskforce (MAST) in San Bernardino County that informed residents of the San Bernardino Mountains about measures they could take to reduce fire risk.
The firm won a Bronze Bernays Award of Excellence in the Special Purpose Publications category for the 2008 MAST calendar which communicates a different fire safety message each month. The firm won a Bronze Bernays Award of Excellence in the Special Purpose Publications category for the 2008 MAST calendar which communicates a different fire safety message each month
Gable PR
Gable PR was awarded one Silver Bernays Mark of Merit award for superior execution in a global communications campaign for the Biotechnology Industry Organization's (BIO) 2008 BIO International Convention. The agency also received two Bronze Bernays Mark of Merit awards for the media kit it developed for Ichor Medical Systems and for the editorial/op-ed campaign it executed in support of the Transportation Corridor Agencies' Toll Road 241 project.
Tom Gable, APR, was also recognized by the local chapter for his election to PRSA's College of Fellows for his positive contributions to the public relations profession for more than 30 years.
Porter Novelli Life Sciences
Porter Novelli Life Sciences was recognized with three Silver Bernays Mark of Excellence Awards for public relations programs. Porter Novelli Life Sciences was recognized with PRSA's highest level of achievement for its work with biotechnology companies in the categories of Global Communications for the launch of Gen-Probe's PROGENSA PCA3 test in Europe, Business-to-Business for the corporate launch of Gourmetceuticals into the functional foods space and Investor Relations for Cepheid.
In other PR news, Intercare Insurance Solutions, a San Diego-based innovator in value-based benefits and corporate wellness programs, has selected Gable PR to provide public relations and marketing communications programs to support its growth in multiple markets.
Grubb & Ellis|BRE publishes Real Estate Reports
Grubb & Ellis|BRE has released a report and information about the regional real estate economic snapshot. Please click here for the full PDF.
San Diego Industrial Market Trends
• The statistics for the third quarter of 2008 for San Diego industrial market revealed some positive signs, despite the softening of the national economy and the slowdown in the real estate market.
• Year-to-date annual countywide net absorption was 1.3 million square feet compared to 1.3 million square feet for the entire year of 2007.
Countywide asking rent for all property types was $0.97 (NNN) compared to $0.95 in the second quarter and $0.92 a year ago. Asking rents decreased slightly for R&D/Flex and increased slightly for warehouse/distribution space from the second quarter of 2008.
• Regarding the San Diego industrial leasing market, the short-term forecast is favorable. The countywide vacancy rate will continue its decline due to the pullback in construction and the healthy demand for space. Absorption rates are forecasted to continue at their current pace, outperforming national trends.
• The San Diego industrial investment market will likely continue to be adversely affected by the financial markets. Over the next couple of quarters look for both the number of deals completed and dollar volume of transactions to decrease as well as a gradual rise in cap rates. Please click here for information on San Diego industrial market trends, as well as this study on capital industrial trends (PDF). The report also features an electronic industrial trends submarket map you can access here.
San Diego Office Market Trends
• The growing uncertainty about the national economy continued to adversely affect the San Diego's office market in the third quarter. Tenant activity remained low and countywide quarterly net absorption was negative for the fourth consecutive quarter.
• The overall average asking rental rate per square foot full service for all classes countywide was $2.73 per square foot in the third quarter, compared to $2.76 per square foot in the second quarter and $2.72 per square foot a year ago. Class A asking rent of $3.20 per square foot decreased from $3.25 per square foot in the second quarter yet remained the same as a year ago.
• Regarding the office leasing market in San Diego County, additional decrease in asking rents and an increase in countywide vacancy rate is expected by year-end as the office market works its way through this cycle and economic uncertainty.
• Regarding the investment market, real estate in Southern California will remain in demand, but only in markets with low vacancies and limited supply and for properties with a proven steady cash flow. Sales volumes are expected to continue to drop in the near future until a new price level is achieved and the gap between bid and offer prices lessens.
Please click here for a report on office space trends and click here for an interactive map of office space.
UCSD’s Roger Tsien Shares Nobel Prize in Chemistry
UCSD Professor Roger Tsien, Ph.D., will share the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Osamu Shimomura of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and Boston University School of Medicine, and Martin Chalfie of Columbia University in New York. The scientists are being honored for the discovery of Green Flourescent Protein (GFP) and seminal work to design and create fluorescent molecules that enter cells and light up their inner workings.
Announcing the prize in Stockholm, Sweden, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said: "This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry rewards the initial discovery of GFP and a series of important developments which have led to its use as a tagging tool in bioscience. By using DNA technology, researchers can now connect GFP to other interesting, but otherwise invisible, proteins. This glowing marker allows them to watch the movements, positions and interactions of the tagged proteins. The impact of his groundbreaking success in the development of colorful, glowing dyes and proteins to track cellular behavior has earned him the Nobel Prize."
Tsien, a professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has dedicated his career to the development and application of fluorescent protein probes that enable scientists to monitor cellular function. He describes his life's work as "building molecules to look inside of cells, allowing us to see beyond what the human eye can see."
Please click here to read a host of stories at the Union-Tribune about Tsien and the importance of GFP to basic research. This technology is core to Invitrogen's fluorescent tagging technology, which you can read about here. Artwork using this technology is on display at BIOCOM's Cell Culture airport art project, which you can read about here: www.biocom.org/airportart/.
Past UCSD Nobel Prize winners include: Renato Dulbecco, 1975, physiology/medicine; Harry Markowitz, 1990, economics; Paul Crutzen, 1995, chemistry; Mario J. Molina, 1995, chemistry; Sydney Brenner, 2002, medicine; Clive W.J. Granger and Robert F. Engle, 2003, economics. The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to former vice president Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose roster of researchers lists nearly two dozen Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists including Mario Molina, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Richard Somerville and Lynne Talley. Eight other UC San Diego faculty laureates have died, including George E. Palade, who won the 1974 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology, who passed away on October 7, 2008; and an eighth is no longer at the university.
Please use the following links for more stories about Roger Tsien:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/03-07Biobridge.asp
http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/tsien_bio.html
San Diego City Council Approves Salk Institute Master Plan
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved the Salk Institute's master plan in a vote yesterday afteroon that clears the way for the Institute to construct new buildings and parking facilities that will add a net 186,000 square feet of research and support space on its 27-acre site.
"The Salk Institute has been a foundation of our economy, not to mention the important scientific research it contributes for all our benefit," Mayor Jerry Sanders said during the City Council meeting. "This expansion will help extend its research."
The plan provides a blueprint for the Institute's growth and development for next 50 years. The facilities under the city-approved master plan include significantly expanded laboratory space, underground core facilities, new green houses and underground parking. At build-out, the Salk Institute will have a total of 476,000 square feet of laboratory and support space.
Understanding the community's interest in future development of the campus, key leaders from the Salk Institute held more than 70 meetings over the last four years with a variety of stakeholders, including the design community and historic preservationists, to gather input on the plan.
Prior to being submitted for approval by the San Diego City Council, the Salk Institute's master plan was unanimously supported in July by a 13-0 vote from the University City Planning Group, and again in September with a unanimous 4-0 vote from the San Diego Planning Commission.
Please click here to read an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune about the Salk approval and read this link to VoiceOfSanDiego.org's blog where guest blogger Joe Panetta discusses the issue.
In other Salk News ...
Salk Institute Appoints Dr. William R. Brody as President
The Johns Hopkins University president to join Salk in March
The Salk Institute at a press conference announced the appointment of Dr. William R. Brody, an acclaimed physician scientist and university leader, as the Institute's new president. Currently completing a 12-year tenure as president of The Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Brody is renowned for his achievements in biomedical engineering and his stellar academic career. He will assume his new role effective March 1, 2009.
Please click here to read a full story about Brody and his new position at the Salk Institute.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, Dr. Brody will oversee Salk's 870 scientific staff and direct the Institute's research objectives. His illustrious background in both medicine and electrical and computer engineering as well as academic leadership of one of the nation's top universities make him uniquely suited to lead Salk's commitment to scientific excellence and innovation.
Dr. Brody is an accomplished scientist with more than 100 articles published in U.S. medical journals. He also holds two U.S. patents in the field of medical imaging. His many biomedical accomplishments include contributions in the fields of medical acoustics, computed tomography, digital radiography, and magnetic resonance imaging. He is a co-founder of three medical device companies, and served from 1984 to 1987 as president and CEO of Resonex Inc., a medical instrument manufacturer.
His contributions to the medical instrumentation field have led to Dr. Brody's induction into several coveted organizations. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE); the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the American Institute of Biomedical Engineering; the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; the American Heart Association; the American College of Radiology; and the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Brody has also been a national figure in efforts to encourage innovation and strengthen the U.S. economy through investments in research and education. Over the past year, he also has written and spoken extensively around the country to promote a fuller discussion of health care reform in the presidential election campaign.
A native of Stockton, Calif., Dr. Brody received his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his doctorate degree (also in electrical engineering) and his medical degree (M.D.) from Stanford University.
NIH Funds UCSD and San Francisco for Protein Analysis
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced it will provide up to an estimated $11 million over the next five years to create two new Biomedical Technology Research Centers (BTRCs) that will provide researchers nationwide with access to specialized research tools, training and state-of-the-art equipment. One center will develop innovative imaging techniques designed specifically to better diagnose and treat diseases, such as Alzheimer's, where the nervous system progressively deteriorates. A second center will create cutting-edge software for identifying and analyzing sets of interacting proteins that are important in a wide range of diseases, such as cancer.
Each center creates critical and often unique technology to apply to a broad range of basic, clinical, and translational research. Serving as test beds for solving complex biomedical research problems, BTRC research projects combine the expertise of multidisciplinary technical and biomedical experts both within the center and through collaborative partnerships. These efforts result in innovative solutions to today's health challenges, which are then actively disseminated to promote rapid adoption and achieve the broadest possible impact.
The new centers are being established at the Northern California Institute for Research and Education Inc. in San Francisco and at the University of California, San Diego.
Through a BTRC award to the University of California, San Diego, totaling up to an estimated $4.94 million over five years, NCRR will support a new center for computational mass spectrometry that will serve as an international resource in proteomics, enabling more research activities, investigation into unexplored areas of computational proteomics, and support of collaborative research efforts.
These new awards increase the number of BTRCs to 52 unique national resources. They are organized into five broad technology areas: imaging, informatics, optical and laser technology, technology for structural biology, and technology for systems biology. Researchers nationwide can access a broad range of support and services at these centers. Potential interactions include long-term collaboration, routine analysis, and consultation. They also provide hands-on laboratory training, short courses, workshops, and online resources.
To learn more about the two new BTRC awardees, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov/btrr/2008
Moores Cancer Center Recives $1.14m from Susan Koman Foundation
Four cancer researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) have received a total of $1.14 million from Susan G. Komen for the Cure® to study the nature, development and spread of breast cancer. These are the organization's only research and training awards given to scientists in San Diego for 2008.
The four grants, which will support basic research and training in the development, spread and potential treatment of breast cancer, include:
Randall S. Johnson, Ph.D., professor of biology, has received $600,000 for a grant titled, "Hypoxic Response and Inflammation: Role in Breast Cancer Progression." Marilyn Farquhar, Ph.D., professor and chair of cellular and molecular medicine, received $180,000 for a grant titled, "The Role of Giv/Girdin and G Proteins in Metastatic Progression of Breast Cancer."
Michael Karin, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and pathology in UC San Diego's Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, received $180,000 to support a grant titled, "Role of lkk/Nf-kappab/BMi-1 in Mammary Carcinogenesis and Metastasis."
Michael G. Rosenfeld, M.D., professor of medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has been awarded $180,000 to support a grant titled, "Tumor-Associated Macrophage-Mediated Inflammatory Responses in Serm "Resistant" Breast Cancer as a Therapeutic Target."
Novel Lung Cancer Vaccine Trial Launched at Moores UCSD Cancer Center
Oncologists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla are hoping to stave off the relentless march of advanced lung cancer by treating patients with a novel kind of cancer vaccine. While many vaccines attempt to pump up the immune system to fight off a cancer, the new vaccine, Lucanix, is genetically engineered to also trick the cancer into turning off its immune system-suppressing activities.
The first patients have begun enrolling in a new clinical trial at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center testing the effectiveness of the vaccine. The trial will involve 700 patients at some 90 centers worldwide.
Roughly 430 patients die of lung cancer every day in the United States, according to Bazhenova, making it the nation's number one killer, despite being the second most common cancer. "While breast cancer mortality has declined about 15 percent, there hasn't been much improvement in mortality in lung cancer in the past several decades," she said. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 215,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed, and 162,000 individuals will die from the disease this year in the United States.
The vaccine, developed by NovaRx, a biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, consists of lung cancer cells that have been genetically altered to shut down the cancer's ability to depress the immune system. In addition, the cells are also modified to enable the immune system to see them better.
For more information, visit the Moores UCSD Cancer Center web site, http://cancer.ucsd.edu/patientcare/clinicaltrials/study_details.asp?P=NR001-03 or contact UCSD Clinical Research Coordinator Peter Vu at 858-822-5354, pvu@ucsd.edu.
The Moores UCSD Cancer Center is one of the nation's 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, combining research, clinical care and community outreach to advance the prevention, treatment and cure of cancer.
UC Irvine Offers BSL3 Laboratory for Industry Use
UC Irving has a new BSL3 laboratory at UC Irvine is available for contract research projects and/or collaborations. Please use the following contacts for more information and the person to contact about using the lab.
GaryLanducci, Laboratory Manager, (949)8244612, g.landucci@uci.edu
Nobel Laureate, “Father of Modern Cell Biology” George Palade
Nobel Laureate George Palade (pronounced "pa-LAH-dee"), M.D., considered the father of modern cell biology, died at home on Tuesday, October 7 at age 95 after a long illness. Palade, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and founding Dean for Scientific Affairs at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, was a resident of Del Mar, California, with his wife Marilyn Farquhar, Ph.D., Chair of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego.
Palade was internationally recognized for his pioneering use of electron microscopy and cell fractionation. He was best known for his work in establishing the pathway for synthesis and transport of proteins along the secretory pathway, illuminating how cells build and transport their protein building blocks. He was also an extraordinary teacher and mentor to some of the leading scientists in the field today. An important mission throughout his life was to train new generations of scientists, based on his belief that scientific discovery is "an enterprise that continues generation after generation."
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 1974 for his contributions to the understanding of cell structure, chemistry and function, a prize he shared with Albert Claude and Christian de Duve. Among his many international honors, he was the recipient of the National Medal of Science, the Gairdner Special Award, and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, and had been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1961. He also was a member of the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Belgian Academy of Medicine, and the Royal Society of London.
Quarterly Report: San Diego Business Investment Remains Strong
CONNECT, San Diego's technology and life sciences accelerator, released the second quarter 2008 data from CONNECT-track, the first independently-verified, comprehensive index of new technology company formation in California. The index measures the vitality and velocity of innovation throughout the state. Data reveal San Diego is now the second-leading new business start-up county in the state, behind only Los Angeles, up from third in Q1 2008.
CONNECT-track measures the economic output and growth in seven industries: software; communications; pharma/bio/medical; computer and electronics; environmental technology; defense and transportation; and recreational goods. Venture capital investment tracking data was also included in CONNECT-track for the first time to measure which sectors receive the most funding for new business innovation.
New CONNECT-track data show a 36 percent increase in new tech businesses in California: from 430 started in the 1st quarter of 2008 to 585 such businesses in the 2nd quarter. Although significantly lower than the 922 and 1,367 tech businesses started in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2007, the annual increase nevertheless shows a 14.7 percent gain, year-over-year from 510 in the same quarter of 2007.
Venture capital investment in California companies totaled $3.9 billion in Q2 2008, representing nearly 53 percent of the total U.S. venture capital investment, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTreeTM Report for Q2 2008.
The majority of the venture funding took place in northern California's Silicon Valley. In San Diego, 38 local companies received a total of $366 million in venture capital - a decrease of $91 million (20 percent) from Q1 2008. San Diego's life sciences sector, made up of the biotech, medical devices and health care services industries, received the largest investment at $151 million, or 41 percent of local funds invested.
Support to launch CONNECT-track was provided by Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP, Roth Capital Partners, the County of San Diego, and the San Diego Institute for Policy Research. Complete results are available at: www.connect.org/policy/connect-track/.
Scripps Translational Science Starts Major Health Study
A consortium of health care, technology and research leaders have joined forces in a first-of-its-kind research study to assess the behavioral impact of personal genetic testing on people who choose to receive such screenings to identify their potential risk for developing certain diseases.
Sponsored by Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI), the study aims to find out if participating in personal genomic testing will improve health by motivating people to make positive lifestyle changes, such as exercising, eating healthy and quitting smoking, as well as decisions to seek further medical evaluation and preventive strategies. The study will offer genetic scans to up to 10,000 employees, family members and friends of the nonprofit Scripps Health system in San Diego and will assess changes in participants' behaviors over a 20-year period.
Co-sponsors of the study include Navigenics Inc. of Redwood Shores, Calif.; Affymetrix of Santa Clara, Calif.; and Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash. Study participants age 18 and older can receive a scan of their genome and a detailed analysis of their genetic risk for more than 20 health conditions that may be changed by lifestyle, including diabetes, obesity, heart attack and some forms of cancer.
"Genome scans give people considerable information about their DNA and risk of disease, yet questions have been raised if these tests are ready for widespread public use," said Eric J. Topol, M.D., director of STSI and principal investigator of the study. "Our study will prospectively evaluate the effect that state-of-the-art gene scans have on people's lifestyles, behaviors, diets and psyches."
Affymetrix will scan each participant's genome and Navigenics will interpret the scan results and offer personalized guidance on steps to lessen the chances of negative health impact. This information will be available to participants on Navigenics' secure Web site. Each participant will be able to enter and store clinical and lifestyle information in an individual Microsoft HealthVaultTM account, allowing the participant to manage his or her personal health information in one location and share it, as desired, with health care providers or others they trust to help make more informed health care decisions.
Lifestyle changes will be tracked via participants' self-reported health assessment questionnaires, including a baseline assessment and subsequent self-reported assessments at three- and 12-month intervals after receiving gene scan results. Researchers will also ask participants to conduct periodic health surveys over the next 20 years to assess their behaviors longitudinally. A complete database of genomic and clinical information will be assembled at the Scripps Genomic Medicine program.
UCSD Announces The Annual International Conference on Metagenomics
Recent, rapid advances in sequencing technologies and in culture-independent genomic analysis and other microbiology techniques have established a solid foundation upon which to build a unique interdisciplinary community for the emerging scientific subfield of metagenomics. At the intersection of many diverse disciplines, metagenomics is already beginning to engage an ever growing and exceptionally wide intellectual community. The UCSD-based Community Cyberinfrastructure for Advanced Marine Microbial Ecology Research and Analysis (CAMERA) project is committed to an annual congress to facilitate the dialogue needed to address the challenges of metagenomics. This is the third meeting organized by us in San Diego and the fourth international conference since Metagenomics 2003 in Germany.
Metagenomics 2008 will provide invaluable opportunities to discuss and accelerate the implementation of metagenomic research. The conference will include research in microbial ecology, genomics and evolution, bioinformatics, and biogeochemistry, as well as research on multiple organisms interacting with each other and their environment, that is, on ecological genomics, population/community genomics and environmental genomics. How structural and computational analysis of metagenomics proteins can lead to a deeper understanding of the function of microbial cells and populations will also be considered. Discussions will include important issues in standards and interoperability of data sets, as well as policy considerations for advancing the community. Demos and/or tutorials on advances in next generation sequencing and on knowledgebase resources will also be provided.
Please click her for more information: http://metagenomics.calit2.net/
Registration Opens for SAPBA Forum
The Sino-American Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Professionals Association (SABPA) is set for its 4th Annual Pacific Forum on Life Science Alliances - Unleash the Dragon, to be held at University of California San Diego Copley International Conference Center on Saturday, November 8, 2008.
Addressing the effects of the evolving global economy on the increasing number of collaborations between the United States and its Asian counterparts, especially China. Forum organizers have reached out and secured sponsorships and partnerships with leading global life science companies and organizations. Prominent regional, national, and international media are enthusiastic participants at this year's Pacific Forum, including Joshua Berlin, Executive Editor at PharmAsia News/F-D-C Reports, Rob Waters, Health & Science Reporter from Bloomberg News, and John Sterling, Editor-in-Chief of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, who will speak at the licensing, investment, and outsourcing panel respectively.
"As the demands of client service and the capabilities and experiences of Chinese CROs increase, leading Chinese CROs have adopted a few new strategic moves. They are expanding services beyond the original area of expertise via mergers and acquisitions or strategic partnerships.
Speakers from leading Chinese CROs including Sundia MediTech, Shanghai Medicilon, and BioDuro, as well as US-based CROs such as Pharmatek and Wilmington Pharmatech will share different perspectives on outsourcing services cross-Pacific." said Dr. Shen.
Registration for the forum is now online. To encourage early registration, $20 early bird special ($10 for students & post-docs) online registration is available by October 21. Thereafter, registration is $30 and $40 onsite. Coffee, lunch, and refreshments will be provided. Please visit www.sabpa.org for complete registration information and the Forum Agenda: http://www.sabpa.org/photos/4th-Pacific-Forum/4th-Annual-SABPA-Pacifi- Forum-2008-Agenda.pdf (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)