Daily Business Report-Nov. 13, 2018
This image represents how the Salk research effort will comprehensively analyze interactions between five areas key to brain health: proteins, genes, metabolism, inflammation and epigenetics. (Credit: Salk Institute)
Salk awarded $19.2 million to study
Alzheimer’s and aging in the brain
Multidisciplinary team is led by Salk President Rusty Gage
A team of Salk Institute researchers led by President Rusty Gage has been awarded $19.2 million over eight years by the American Heart Association-Allen Initiative in Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment to investigate mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and aging-related cognitive decline and uncover new therapies. This bold venture will comprehensively analyze interactions between five areas key to brain health: proteins, genes, metabolism, inflammation and epigenetics.
An aging-related disorder that results in severe memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease represents a global health crisis with estimates suggesting that 130 million people will be affected by 2050. To date, there are no therapies to effectively treat the disease.
To respond to this critical need, Gage will be leading a multidisciplinary team of 10 Salk scientists, all luminaries in their respective fields across metabolism, immunology and inflammation, genetics and epigenetics, and protein analysis. The all-star interdisciplinary group believes that Alzheimer’s and other age-related brain disorders are triggered not by a single event, but by a failure of complex, interdependent biological systems in our body that start to break down as we age. Failure in any one of these systems can cause a domino-like crash that results in devastating brain disorders like Alzheimer’s. By studying the networks that keep our brains healthy, the team aims to reveal new targets for therapeutic research and biomarkers of early stage cognitive decline.
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Rep. Peters and San Diego Regional EDC
lead 31-member trade delegation to Japan
Congressman Scott Peters and World Trade Center San Diego, an affiliate of San Diego Regional EDC, are leading a delegation to Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan this week to promote key San Diego industries, establish and develop business relationships and explore opportunities for San Diego companies to tap into Japan’s expertise in urban planning and life sciences.
Over the three-day trade mission, San Diego will look to bolster its tech and life sciences industries through various meetings and partnership deals with Japanese counterparts.
Delegates will participate in upwards of 15 meetings over the course of the trade mission, sharing best practices and formulating collaborations across many verticals. The 31-San Diego delegates include representatives from Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm Takeda California and more. Also in attendance are key San Diego agencies, universities and civic organizations such as the Port of San Diego, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, San Diego State University, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and UC San Diego.
Japan is the third largest economy in the world and one of San Diego’s most vital trading partners. According to World Trade Center Los Angeles, nearly 12,000 San Diegans are directly employed by Japan-based companies including SONY, Takeda and more. Additionally, there was more than $3.4 billion in economic activity between San Diego and Japan from 2016 -2018.
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Here’s why, despite it all, Israelis live longer
Israel is among the top countries in longevity with an average lifespan of 82.5 years as of 2016. One answer is a “Mediterranean diet” high in fruit, vegetables and fish. Another is low alcohol consumption. Another quite important reason is the close family structure in Israel. But probably the single most important factor is the Israeli health care system. All its citizens receive health care services regardless of income or pre-existing health conditions. Yet Israel spends just 7.4 percent percent of its GDP on health care, compared to the U.S., which spends about 18 percent of its GDP while still leaving out large numbers of people.
All Israeli residents are covered by one of four major health funds. Excellent public hospital care is available equally to all sectors of society. Costs are kept down through a combination of government controls, purchasing power by the health funds, incentives and competition.
Maybe we can learn from Israel?
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Marriott’s Moxie Hotel to open
later this month in the Gaslamp Quarter
Moxie San Diego, the first California hotel under the Marriott International brand, is set to open later this month in the Gaslamp Quarter. In anticipation of the opening, the millennial-minded, 126-room hotel announced members of its executive team.
Leading the team as captain — the brand’s twist on the traditional general manager position —will be Lindsay Jones, who will oversee all facets of the day-to-day hotel operations, from sales and marketing, revenue management, guest experiences, programming, and food and beverage. She most recently was the director of rooms of Kona Kai Resort & Spa in San Diego where she was recognized with the “Most Valuable Player” management award.
As director of sales and marketing, Geneva Maxwell brings nearly 15 years of hospitality experience to the team where she will be responsible for driving the sales and marketing strategies and initiatives. Prior to joining Moxy San Diego, Maxwell was the director of sales and marketing for Interstate Hotels & Resorts San Diego.
Sales Manager Yvonne Gill will support Maxwell’s efforts by bringing her customer service and sales background to maximize the hotel’s revenue goals.
Leading the hotel’s restaurant and bar concepts will be Food and Beverage Manager Mark deSalvo, who has more than 20 years of experience bartending and managing at some of Los Angeles’ and San Diego’s top bars, nightclubs and restaurants, including Cusp La Jolla and Preux & Proper in Los Angeles.
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Stronghold Engineering, Helix Electric
take top construction project awards
Stronghold Engineering and Helix Electric received top awards at the 2018 Associated Builders and Contractors San Diego chapter Excellence in Construction Awards. The program recognized projects built with exceptional quality, design, craftsmanship and safety.
Stronghold Engineering was winner of a Top Project by a General Contractor for the San Jose McEnery Convention Center Exhibit Halls Lighting and Ceiling Upgrades. Helix Electric was winner of the Top Project by a Subcontractor for its work on Sea World Aquatica.
Stronghold Engineering and CannonDesign were awarded the $20 million convention center project, an effort to keept it competitive. Helix Electric helped SeaWorld Aquatica go solar, installing 3,780 solar panels to provide 80 to 90 percent of the park’s annual energy use.
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Hillel of San Diego wins lawsuit
over Glickman Hillel Center at UC San Diego
Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor ruled in favor of the City of San Diego and Hillel of San Diego, upholding Hillel’s right to build the Beverly and Joseph Glickman Hillel Center across La Jolla Village Drive from UC San Diego. The ruling was a crucial step forward in Hillel’s effort to build a facility to serve Jewish students at UC San Diego. Approved in October 2017 by a unanimous vote of the San Diego City Council, the Glickman Center will provide a permanent home for Hillel in La Jolla.
Numerous lawsuits against this project, dating back to as early as 2006, have been filed by “TRLU,” an organization with only one listed member. The latest suit, filed in 2017, sought to invalidate the City Council’s most-recent approval of Hillel’s Glickman Center by alleging myriad violations of law. Earlier this year, Judge Taylor threw out TRLU’s claims that the city violated the U.S. and California constitutions.
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Mirum Pharmaceuticals raises
$120 million to treat liver disease
San Diego’s Mirum Pharmaceuticals has raised $120 million in venture capital funding. The newly formed biomedical company will use the money to complete development of an unsuccessful pediatric liver disease drug it has acquired and plans to revive. The orally taken drug, maralixibat, treats certain liver diseases that cause excess buildup of bile acids in the blood.
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North County Excellence in Economic
Development Awards set for Dec. 7
SD North EDC will hold the 2018 North County Excellence in Economic Development Awards Luncheon on Dec. 7 at Cal State San Marcos as a celebration of key economic development achievements along the 78 Corridor. The event will spotlight new businesses, significant expansions of existing businesses, new developments and investments in the community, and policies and activities that make for a more economically competitive and vibrant region.
To register, click here
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Buchalter opens law office in San Diego
Business law firm Buchalter has opened a new office in San Diego with the addition of managing shareholder Tracy A. Warren and lawyers J. Patrick Allen, Brittney R. Dobbins, Kathryn B. Fox and Rick A. Waltman.
Robert Zadek, previously in the firm’s San Francisco office, is now full-time in San Diego as is Jeff P.M. Lewis, a member of the Health Care Practice Group. Shareholder J. Rick Tache, co-chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group, will also spend a significant amount of time in San Diego.
“The decision to expand to San Diego was a natural one as the city’s technology, cybersecurity, manufacturing, and health care industries are all booming. We look forward to further expanding our presence in San Diego in the near future to meet our clients growing demands for the services we offer,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Adam J. Bass.
Warren’s role at Buchalter is focused on growing the firm’s presence in San Diego. She represents both national and international clients in employment matters involving single plaintiff and class action defense.
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Personnel Announcements
Diana Longoria joins Sudberry Properties
Sudberry Properties has appointed Diana Longoria vice president/asset management – residential. A highly regarded asset manager, Longoria has managed portfolios consisting of nearly 20,000 multifamily units during her 25-year career in Southern California. She will be responsible for Sudberry’s growing portfolio of multifamily apartment communities, which includes 1,350 units and more than 500 opening by 2020.
Most recently, Longoria was the regional manager of Alliance Residential, where she managed a portfolio of seven properties totaling 1,813 units in Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Earlier, she was senior regional manager for Pinnacle, responsible for 11 multifamily properties in Southern California; regional manager for Riverstone, responsible for six properties in in L.A. and Orange counties; and regional manager for the Irvine Company, managing a portfolio of seven properties in Newport Beach and Irvine.