What’s Inside: City Council Passes Updated Climate Action Plan; Sysmex Partner Day; Mentoring Opportunities; DE&I in Life Science; Join Our Team; and more.

We’re providing you with the latest news, trends, and information surrounding the San Diego life science industry. Continue reading for local policy news and how it affects your business, community give-back opportunities, ways to maximize your savings with our Purchasing Group, and more. If you have company news or information you’d like included, please get in touch.

Advocacy & Public Policy

San Diego Passes Climate Action Plan 2.0
On August 2, San Diego City Council passed its ambitious updated version of the city’s Climate Action Plan – Net Zero by 2035. It includes a draft implementation plan, and Biocom California policy staff will continue to work with the city on proposed rules for life science facilities. 

County Declares Monkeypox State of Emergency
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to ratify a local public health state of emergency for monkeypox, and held a town hall meeting for the public last week. Wastewater researchers at UC San Diego added monkeypox to their surveillance efforts, which currently monitors COVID-19 levels. 

California Governor Announces Plan to Boost Water Supply
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $8 billion strategy to boost water supplies that focus on four pillars: building additional storage, increasing recycling and reuse of wastewater, increasing conservation and building more desalination capacity. The plan received widespread support from water users and business groups while also facing criticism from environmentalists. Find out more about the plan here and here.

State Bill to Create New San Diego Housing Agency Dies in Committee
Senate Bill 1105 didn’t make it out of the Appropriations suspense file. It was authored by State Senator Ben Hueso and championed at the local level by Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer. The bill would have created a new public agency to focus on low-income housing across San Diego County with the authority to put tax measures on the ballot.

UC Plan Update and Community Planning Group Reform
The University Community Plan, the document that will dictate land use and public amenities in UTC for the next 20-plus years, continues its years long update process with a new set of development scenarios set to be presented to the plan update committee on September 20. Biocom California staff holds a seat on the committee and is advocating for policies that will allow for continued industry growth in this area. Community Planning Group reform, Councilmember Joe LaCava’s effort to expand access to local groups that provide input on construction projects, goes to city council on September 13. 

Other Transportation and Planning Updates
SANDAG’s draft 2023 Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) has been extended for public review to August 27, with a public hearing set for September 9. Mira Mesa is in the process of drafting a new Community Plan Update. The plan is looking to take a detour away from strip malls and suburban office parks and is moving instead to pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.

Capital Development

Join Our Team – Capital Development Partnering Manager Search
Our team is growing! We’re looking to hire a Capital Development Partnering Manager who will be responsible for the expansion and management of new and existing partnerships within the life science investment and startup communities. If you or anyone you know is interested in this role, please visit our careers page for more information.

Sysmex Partner Day
We invite you to partake in an exclusive Partner Day with Sysmex, an In Vitro Diagnostics Company, and the world’s premier company in hematology. Sysmex is strengthening their efforts in regenerative and cell medicine as a new business domain and is looking for partner companies to collaborate within the ISPC assay, immune-synapse detection assay, and cytokine assay spaces. Learn more and register here.

Talent & Workforce

Virtual Field Trip
We are excited to share the premiere of the Virtual Field Trip, Genomics: Decoding the Language of Life, developed by our partners at Illumina and Discovery Education. Students will virtually transport to the Illumina Labs in San Diego to meet real-world experts who are harnessing the power of the genome to improve lives and support the Earth’s natural resources. Learn more and register to watch the on-demand video launching September 15.

Become a Mentor for High School Students
Generation STEAM’s Mentorship Program enables high school students to connect with and learn from STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) industry professionals. Over the course of the school year mentors help students with career-relevant practices and skills, including developing an elevator pitch, getting comfortable with interviews, creating resumes, landing internships, setting goals and practicing self-review progress. For more information on how you can get involved, visit our LinkedIn page or contact Dolores Flores.

Biocom California Members Show Up for Girls Who Lead
Generation STEAM’s Girls Who Lead: Summer STEAM Camp was a free, week-long career exposure experience for high school girls from around San Diego County. Illumina, ProteinTech Genomics, Velia, Corning, Cultura, Amazon, SOLV Energy, and TaylorMade Golf Company invited the students to their campuses for tours, career exposure, and hands-on learning and engagement. We want to thank our funders Hologic, Fisher Scientific, Illumina, Corning, and Cox Communications for your support of this program. Interested in participating? No need to wait until next summer: contact Silvana DelPiccolo to learn about Generation STEAM’s year-round Women Who Inspire programming.

Institute for the Global Entrepreneur Mentorship Opportunities
UC San Diego’s Institute for the Global Entrepreneur invites experienced entrepreneurs and industry leaders to join their mission to educate, train and mentor high-potential leaders in engineering and technology. Mentor CEOs, work on exciting new technologies, and access UC San Diego’s innovation network. Learn more and register today.

Savings & Purchasing Group

Webinar: The Business Value & Importance of Practicing DE&I in Life Science
Join Biocom California and representatives from Fisher Scientific, Marsh McLennan Agency, RetirementDNA, and Cultura as they discuss the ways in which Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are prioritized and weaved into life science business practices at employee, management, and senior leadership levels. This webinar aims to provide awareness to life science companies of different ways to incorporate DE&I into their daily business practices as well as strategic visions.

Community & Events

Wednesday, August 24
Longfellow SOVA Science District

Biocom California invites you to mix and mingle with your fellow CFOs within the life science ​​​​industry. Enjoy hosted food by The Craft Taco Truck and beverages by New English Brewing during this informal networking reception.

Thursday, September 8
Virtual

Hear from experts at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Food and Drug Administration on the intricacies faced by biotech and medtech startups when securing Intellectual Property rights and seeking regulatory approval.

Wednesday, September 14
Farmer & the Seahorse

Mix and mingle with your fellow CEOs within the life science 
​​​​​industry. Enjoy hosted hors d’oeuvres and cocktails during this informal networking reception. These receptions are designed for CEOs of life science companies to network with one another on a peer‐to‐peer level.
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Wednesday, October 12
The Alexandria Torrey Pines

Biocom California’s HR Conference will take place on October 12, 2022, connecting the life science human resources communities across California, and providing a unique opportunity to network and learn from executives and HR colleagues within the industry.