What’s Inside: Our 10 Most-Read Stories of 2022; Upside Foods Gets Safety Nod from FDA for Cell-Cultured Meat; UCSD Receives $20M Gift; Take this Year’s DE&I Survey; and more.

We’re championing the progress made by California’s life science community and want to hear about your company’s latest scientific breakthrough, investment milestone, or commitment to creating positive change for our industry. We welcome all members to submit your story here for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue.

What’s Happening at Biocom California

Survey Request | Building a More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Future, Together

As leaders in life science, we have a responsibility to provide and promote a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for discoveries being made for patients around the world. Part of our commitment includes facilitating discussions that address the industry’s most pressing DE&I issues. In 2020, our Biocom California Institute launched the largest Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Survey in the industry with the goal of gathering data that could provide a framework for an actionable, life science-specific DE&I plan. We’re inviting all members to take this year’s survey and join in the conversation to help cultivate actionable strategies for our community. The survey will be open until December 23 and should take approximately 12 minutes to complete. All responses will remain confidential.

Executive Director Stephanie Hsieh to Speak on the State of Life Sciences in Los Angeles 

With the accelerated growth of the life sciences in Los Angeles, key players are planning for the future, strategizing on how to compete with other life science clusters in the U.S. and world, and developing solutions to limited lab space and other current challenges. To facilitate these conversations, Bisnow is bringing together leaders from around the region today to talk about future needs, provide an in-depth look at bio-manufacturing in Los Angeles, and learn how partners within the ecosystem can best collaborate to support growth. The event will take place at our member Armata Pharmaceuticals’ facility and our Executive Director Stephanie Hsieh will speak on the State of Life Sciences in Los Angeles panel along with Jonathan Lange from Boston Properties, Matthew Ollier from Hawkins\Brown, Mike Barbera from Intersect Management, and moderated by Tony Natsis from Allen Matkins. We’ll be sure to provide a recap of the key takeaways from what we anticipate being an insightful discussion.
 

President and CEO Joe Panetta highlighted in Newsweek 

Biocom California’s President and CEO Joe Panetta was recently featured in Newsweek in a Q&A for its Investment Report. Panetta shares how much the biotech industry has advanced over the past 30 years, what California has to offer for life science technology and investment, how the Inflation Reduction Act may affect the industry, and what life science companies in the Golden State can look forward to. In the interview he notes why California is now a prime destination for life sciences investment stating that, “Investment-wise, the venture capital industry in California, at least on the biotech side, was virtually nonexistent prior to the ‘80s. It was early investors, such as the Kleiner Perkins venture capital firm, that shifted their focus from Silicon Valley to investing in biotech, giving birth to companies like Genentech and Hybritech.” 

Present at the Global Life Science Partnering Conference

For life science companies seeking funding from active investors and potential partners, presenting during our 13^th Annual Global Life Science Partnering Conference provides a seamless experience that facilitates relationship building and can accelerate business partnerships. Following presentations, companies may follow up through one-on-one meetings with heads of business development and licensing at top biopharmaceutical companies. Applications to present at the conference are open through January 13, and we encourage companies to submit as early as possible for a chance to present as spots are limited.

Our Most-Read Stories of 2022

It’s been another inspiring year for the biotechnology industry. Our members are a vibrant community of risk-takers, visionaries, and collaborators who are advancing science to improve lives and making monumental contributions that help build a better world. We regularly discuss and roundup our members’ latest innovations, breakthroughs, and successes in our biweekly Biocom California Newsletter and in LifeLines, our online news destination for life science. In case you missed it, here are our top ten stories from 2022.

1. The Future of Biomanufacturing: Cytiva provides a look at what’s in store for this sector in biotech.  
2. Why Biotech Companies Should Consider Space as the Next Frontier for Drug Discovery: Outer space isn’t out of reach for biotech companies. Our webinar explored how research can be advanced by going into low-Earth orbit.   
3. Celebrating Black Biotech Leaders in Life Science: For Black History Month, we hosted our first Black Biotech Trailblazers in Life Science panel in San Diego, featuring: Enoch Kariuki, CEO of Lengo Therapeutics; Stanley Lewis, M.D., co-founder and CEO of A28 Therapeutics; and Paul Mola, founder, president and CEO of Roswell Biotechnologies. 
4. Breakthrough Properties Builds Destination Lab and Office Spaces That Blend Art and Science: In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we spotlighted AAPI leaders in life science and interviewed Susie Harborth, EVP of Business Operations at Breakthrough Properties.  
5. Berkeley Lab is Helping Solve the Most Pressing and Profound Scientific Problems Facing Mankind: During Women’s History Month, we featured Faith Dukes, Ph.D., K-12 STEM Education Program Director at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and how she inspires students to consider careers in science.    
6. Betting Big on Cell and Gene Therapy: Thermo Fisher Scientific’s recent expansions and developments in this emerging life science field. 
7. The Latest in Women’s, Maternal, and Reproductive Healthcare: A roundup of our member companies addressing a multitude of health concerns with innovative solutions.
8. ​​​The Latest in Vaccine Development: For National Immunization Month, we highlighted member companies and institutions developing vaccines to treat a variety of diseases.  
9. A New Kind of Nylon: Genomatica (now known as Geno) developed nylon from bio-based materials.   
10. Beauty and the Biotech: Amyris got national attention for its successful skincare line, Biossance, and how its plant-based squalene saved the lives of nearly 2 million sharks.     

Public Policy Perspective 

California on Track for $25 Billion Budget Deficit 

The California Legislative Analyst’s Office recently released a report that forecasts a $25 billion budget deficit resulting from lower-than-expected revenue next year. The state budget reserve (“rainy day fund”) is currently equal to roughly $23 billion.

LA City Council Moves Forward with Life Science Incentives

On November 29, the LA City Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee unanimously passed a motion by Councilmember Lee that includes a package of incentives to encourage life science industry growth in the city. The package will next go to Planning for ordinance drafting.

Leadership and Service Changes at Caltrain 

Last month, Caltrain named 20-year employee Michelle Bouchard as the first permanent executive director of the railroad. Caltrain is currently electrifying its fleet, which will result in temporarily reduced service levels between December 5 and December 18.

Biocom California Requests Density in UC Plan Review

On November 15, San Diego city staff presented another new set of potential density scenarios in the UC Plan Update. Biocom California and a diverse coalition is requesting that the city move forward with the most dense scenario for the plan update in order to provide a full environment and technical analysis to the City Council.

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