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What’s Inside: Coheres Receives FDA Approval for New Cancer Therapy; Actym Closes Series A with $59.5M Total; Meet This Month’s Policy Champion; Celebrate the Season at SSF’s Holiday Market; Maximize Your Time at JPM 2024; and more.
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Find the latest news and information impacting the Bay Area life science industry. If you have company news you’d like to share, please get in touch.
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Welcome New Bay Area Members
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Meet Elizabeth Redman Cleveland, City of Berkeley
Elizabeth Redman Cleveland is the chief strategist for sustainable growth with the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. She led the city’s engagement with innovation businesses when the city updated its land use definition of Research and Development in 2022, making it more inclusive to reflect the combination of lab and office needs of Berkeley startups. She brought many City of Berkeley departments and external stakeholders together to introduce the policy concepts in Councilmember Robinson’s “ Keep Innovation in Berkeley” referral, a legislative package that aims to ease procedural and zoning barriers to retain and foster innovation. The Biocom California policy team has worked closely with Liz on both initiatives. It is because of her deep knowledge and understanding of the industry that the life sciences will continue to innovate and grow in Berkeley. Read more about her work here.
Changes to Approving New Housing in San Francisco
San Francisco is notorious for its difficult permitting process for new housing and California officials are demanding change. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) released a report that found the city’s policies and politics stifle the construction of apartments or condos at nearly every step, driving developers to pursue business elsewhere. Under state law, HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit will now require the city to change a number of practices and rewrite city laws governing the housing permitting and appeals process, making it easier to build homes in San Francisco.
East Bay Economic Development Alliance’s New Resource Website
The East Bay Economic Development Alliance (East Bay EDA) recently unveiled Resilient East Bay, a website designed as a resource to support the region’s key innovation industries: life science, clean tech, electronics, food and beverage, and transportation. The website will serve a broad range of stakeholders, such as manufacturers, public agencies, industry associations, and others interested in this work.
BART Extension to South Bay Receives Final Funding
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission voted unanimously to allocate $375 million in regional funding to BART’s extension into the South Bay. The Valley Transportation Authority’s Phase II of the project includes five miles of an underground tunnel and four additional stations, stretching the system into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara.
In Other News:
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Attending JPM 2024? Let Biocom California Maximize Your Experience
To ensure your time in San Francisco is well spent and full of meaningful connections, Biocom California is pleased to provide members with free meeting space during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January.
The space provides an ideal location to hold valuable one-on-one partnering discussions. Meeting rooms are available for 30 minutes per company per day. Members can meet with non-members, but the room must be booked by a Biocom California member. Book your time here.
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Get Involved: Seeking Volunteers to Help Shape the Future Workforce
Biocom California Institute is on a mission to shape the future of the life science workforce. Share your knowledge and experience by becoming a mentor, help candidates shine by offering mock interviews and resume reviews, or support our workforce development programs through sponsorship. These engagement opportunities will inspire, guide and make a significant difference in our diverse and emerging talent. Join us in our commitment to fostering the next generation of life science professionals. To learn more about these engagement opportunities, reach out to Sylwia Palczewska.
HR Executive Educational Program Starts February 2024
The program is designed to nurture the future generation of HR leaders within the life science industry. Tailored for individuals stepping into the Head of HR/ VP of HR/ CHRO role and who are aiming to refine their executive skills, this program offers engagement in strategic sessions taught by accomplished experts. Topics covered include executive presence and influencing; organizational growth and scaling; finance for the HR executive; partnering with your board of directors, and more. Spanning 20 weeks, participants will have the chance to connect with peers, broaden their professional network, and gain insights from industry experts. Act now, as our interest list is forming and available seats are limited. For further details and to secure your spot, contact Sylwia Palczewska.
Educators Unite with Industry Leaders for Advanced Genomics Integration
As a part of our mission to help the life sciences industry and educators continually connect with one another, we were honored to partner with Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) in Berkeley on October 19 to host an Industry Connection Event for Educators. We brought together educators, administrators, and education partners from across the Bay Area to hear presentations from Illumina, IGI Staff and current post-doctoral researchers, as well as tour the Sequencing Core Facility at IGI. The room was buzzing with creative energy. Educators received training and curriculum to support incorporating next-generation sequencing and sequencing-by-synthesis techniques into their classroom. If you are interested in attending an event like this near you or bringing advanced genomics technology into your classroom, please complete this survey or contact Mikayla Ortega.
A Deep Dive into Genomic Advancements for Contra Costa County
Through our partnership with Contra Costa County Office of Education, on October 20 we worked with four of their biotechnology and biology educators on a professional development event that explored next-generation sequencing and sequencing-by-synthesis technology. It was an exciting day exploring emerging technologies in genomics. Teachers were equipped with resources, curriculum and tools to bring this content back to their classrooms and expose their students to the latest advancements made by the life sciences industry. To support professional development and training for educators in high schools and colleges, please complete this survey or contact Mikayla Ortega.
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New to the Portfolio: DEI Solutions
The Biocom California Purchasing Group is proud to introduce our newest solution to designing and driving cultures that are inclusive, MESH/diversity. MESH is revolutionizing the approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in contemporary workplaces through their complete and innovative method that blends science and data with cutting-edge technology to deliver a DEI solution that scales effortlessly. With a foundation in behavioral science, MESH’s strategies are rooted in data-driven insights and metrics, guaranteeing that your DEI efforts produce tangible and impactful results. Schedule a call with MESH/diversity to learn more about how they can assist and enable your team wherever you stand in your DEI journey.
FedEx Examines Relationship Between Healthcare and Sustainability
In their whitepaper titled “Healthcare’s Bet on Sustainability,” FedEx discusses the growing interest in sustainability in healthcare, driven by the desire of many organizations to be perceived as active contributors to solving for the industry’s role in climate change. The paper outlines why life science organizations interested in healthcare should, at a minimum, expect to encounter conversations regarding sustainability and be prepared to speak to them. These organizations may even consider ways they can credibly incorporate sustainability into their value propositions, while being mindful of the risks as well as the benefits. Healthcare’s relationship with market forces that favor sustainability are nuanced, with a complex value chain that requires stakeholders along each link to consider ways they can contribute. To learn more, read the whitepaper here.
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Committees and Working Groups
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Please contact us if you are interested in joining a Biocom California committee and meet the committee requirements.
November 28 | Bay Area Regional Policy Committee | Virtual ( inquire)
December 12 | Regulatory Affairs Committee ( inquire) | Virtual
December 13 | Intellectual Property and Patent Law Committee ( inquire) | Virtual
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Premium Member News
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Gilead named No. 1 overall philanthropic funder of HIV-related programs for second year in a row by Funders Concerned About AIDS; Gilead real-world evidence reinforces Biktarvy as a long-term treatment option with a high barrier to resistance for people with HIV and a range of comorbidities.
Gilead and Assembly Biosciences establish partnership to develop next-generation therapeutics for serious viral diseases.
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Member News
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Biocom California | Bay Area
Biocom California is the advocate for California’s life science sector. Our South San Francisco office aims to build the networks that are critical to growth in this thriving regional ecosystem. Our targeted programs and customized services are tailored to the specific needs of the Bay Area region. We work on behalf of more than {{{dynamic_content_1600}}} members to drive public policy, build an enviable network of industry leaders, create access to capital, introduce cutting-edge STEM education programs, and create robust value-driven purchasing programs.
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