Daily Business Report-July 28, 2015
Exterior of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology.
La Jolla Institute Rejects
USC Affiliation For UC San Diego
Times of San Diego
The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology rejected an offer from the University of Southern California and instead announced Monday an affiliation with UC San Diego.
The institute said the agreement “formalizes and codifies an informal, decades-old relationship built on shared research interests and a long history of successful scientific collaboration.”
The private, influential institute reportedly was courted by USC. Instead, it signed a multi-year agreement with UC San Diego that will facilitate joint faculty appointments, enhance the range and depth of collaboration between the two organizations, and promote closer integration between basic immunology research and clinical medicine.
“For many years, we have enjoyed a cordial and mutually beneficial relationship with UCSD. The reinforcement of our longstanding relationship through a formal agreement is a transformative step for both institutions,” said Mitchell Kronenberg, president and chief scientific officer of the La Jolla Institute.
The rejection of USC follows on the heels of a ruling by a judge that control of a landmark project on Alzheimer’s disease belongs to UC San Diego —
handing the school a major victory in its lawsuit against the University of Southern California.
CONNECT Extends Nominating Period
For Most Innovative New Products Award
CONNECT has extended the nomination period to Aug. 3 for the annual Most Innovative New Products Award.
The awards are in December, honoring San Diego’s celebrities of innovation along with the groundbreaking new products launched within the last year.
Nominations are currently being accepted in eight categories: Aerospace & Cyber Technologies, Cleantech, Communications & IT, Life Science Diagnostics & Research Tools, Mobile Apps, Pharmaceutical Drugs & Medical Devices, Software & Digital Media, and Sport & Active Lifestyle Technologies. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony dinner on Dec. 1.
To be eligible for the 2015 MIP Awards, the product must have been: developed in the San Diego or Baja region; first introduced between March 2014 andAugust 2015; never nominated before; and generated revenue from sales (except free mobile apps).
For more information or to submit a nomination online, visit: http://connect.org/mipawards
Researchers Establish Safety and
Dosing of New Drug for Blood Cancers
Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine have established the safety and dosing of a new drug for treating blood cancers. The findings are published online July 27 in The Lancet Haematology.
The drug is a small molecule inhibitor that suppresses the activity of a signaling pathway believed to contribute to a variety of blood cancers’ eventual resistance to standard chemotherapy treatments.
Research, funded in part by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has shown that the drug coaxes dormant cancer stem cells, residing in the bone marrow, to begin differentiating and exit into the blood stream where they can be destroyed by chemotherapy agents targeting dividing cells.
“This drug gets that unwanted house guest to leave and never come back,” said the study’s senior author, Catriona Jamieson, an associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine in the School of Medicine. “It’s a significant step forward in treating people with refractory or resistant myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and myelofibrosis. It’s a bonus that the drug can be administered as easily as an aspirin, in a single, daily oral tablet.”
Tax Relief Available for Owners
Of Flood-Damaged Property
Property tax relief is available for all property owners whose property was damaged or destroyed during the recent flooding. The tax relief program requires the reassessment of the property to reflect its damaged condition. The reduced value will remain in effect until the property is rebuilt or repaired.
After the property is rebuilt or repaired, the owners can retain their previous taxable value if the property is rebuilt in a like or similar manner, said County Assessor Ernest Dronenburg. This means that the property tax assessment will not increase beyond what it was prior to the flooding.
“The assessor’s office will be proactively mailing property tax relief applications to affected property owners,” Dronenburg said. “I would also like to strongly encourage all property owners who suffered flood damage to their property in excess of $10,000 to contact our office for the necessary claim form at (619) 531-4993 or by visiting the assessor’s website at www.sdarcc.com.”
Home Prices Rose 4.8 Percent
in San Diego Over Past Year
Housing prices in San Diego have risen 4.8 percent over the past year, slightly higher than the national rate of 4.4 percent, according to the closely followed S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Case-Shiller on Tuesday released the 20-city index for May, which showed a rise of 0.9 percent in San Diego and 1.1 percent nationally from April.
“Nationally, single family home price increases have settled into a steady 4 percent to 5 percent annual pace following the double-digit bubbly pattern of 2013. Over the next two years or so, the rate of home price increases is more likely to slow than to accelerate,” said David M. Blitzer, managing director of S&P Dow Jones Indices.
He noted that home prices are rising about twice as fast as inflation or wages and first-time homebuyers are a weak spot in the overall market.
The greatest increase in home prices over the past year, according to Case-Shiller, were seen in Denver at 10 percent and San Francisco at 9.7 percent.
Old Globe to Celebrate 100th Birthday
Of Founding Director Craig Noel
The Old Globe will honor the late Craig Noel, founding director, and his many contributions to the world of theater and the culture life of San Diego with Craig100, a special evening of memories and performances, on Monday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.
The one-night-only event will celebrate Noel’s accomplishments in the local and national art scenes, including founding and growing The Old Globe as an influential independent producing organization; launching the successful Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program; and creating San Diego Junior Theatre, still operating in Balboa Park today.
Noel died on April 3, 2010, at the age of 94.
Richard Seer, director of professional training for the M.F.A. Program, directs the event on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.
The evening will feature retrospectives on the life and legacy of Noel. Throughout the evening, performers will bring to life scenes from some of the milestone productions and programs from Noel’s life, giving viewers a look back at his storied career.
Tickets to Craig100 are $50 each for regular seating and $100 for preferred seating. They are currently available to donors and subscribers and will go on sale to the public on Friday, July 31, at noon. Tickets can be purchased by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
Personnel Announcements
Bill Attaway Joins Union Bank
Industry veteran Bill Attaway has joined Union Bank’s retail consumer lending group as a mortgage consultant for the greater San Diego area. Attaway is responsible for assisting clients with their home mortgage needs.
Attaway has more than 30 years of mortgage and banking experience. Prior to joining Union Bank, he served at PHH Mortgage in a number of executive positions, most recently as senior mortgage adviser and regional sales manager. Prior to that he was the director of the Mortgage Division with Coast Newport Financial Group. Previously, he served as a vice president with Chase Manhattan Corporation, and as a corporate and commercial loan officer with California Canadian Bank.
Sunroad Hires President of Multifamily Division
Michael Dow has been hired as president of Sunroad Enterprises’ multifamily division. Dow has over 30 years of experience in all facets of multifamily housing, including acquisition, development, property management, and value-added improvements.
Dow’s career highlights include overseeing multifamily asset management, value-added construction management, investor relations, client relations, and new construction. Most recently, he served as the senior managing director of asset management at Arenda Capital Management, while also serving as an adviser for the Loma Linda University Endowment Fund’s multifamily investment platform.
Dow also served as Western Division President for Riverstone Residential Group in Dallas, where he was responsible for the overall management and supervision of 80,000 multifamily units.
