Daily Business Report: Monday, Aug. 30, 2021
Sanford Burnham Prebys drug enters Phase 1
study for the treatment of tobacco use disorder
A drug discovered in the lab of Nicholas Cosford, professor and director of the NCI-designated Cancer Center at Sanford Burnham Prebys, has entered a Phase 1 clinical study.
The compound, SBP-9330, targets a neuronal signaling pathway underlying addictive behaviors and would be a first-in-class oral therapeutic to help people quit smoking.
The study is being funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health through a grant awarded to Sanford Burnham Prebys, the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, and Camino Pharma LLC, who will oversee activities related to the Phase 1 study.
“Smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in the US. Nearly 70 percent of adult smokers try to quit smoking, but only succeed less than 30 percent of the time, and often relapse after quitting,” says Cosford, who is also co-founder of Camino Pharma. “It has been 15 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last approved a therapeutic for this indication. We hope that SBP-9330 ultimately becomes a viable therapeutic option for smokers to quit for good.”
University of San Diego making good progress
on Knauss Center for Business Education
Construction progress on the Knauss Center for Business Education, the new home of the University of San Diego School of Business, is moving quickly. The project, which officially broke ground in April and will finish in fall 2022, combines the construction of the brand new Knauss Center with a complete renovation of Olin Hall to create a single ecosystem for innovation and business education.
At the beginning of August, scaffolding was installed and the building was ready for exterior framing. In just three weeks, interior priority wall framing is already complete on the first floor and in the courtyard. Drywall is complete on the second and third floors of the building and 75 percent of overhead mechanical, electrical and plumbing lines have been laid.
During construction, business students will take many of their classes in the brand new Learning Commons building on campus located behind the newly renovated Copley Library. Faculty offices and student services will be housed in the University Modular Offices located between Warren Hall and the Pardee Legal Research Center.
Artiva Biotherapeutics establishes research
and manufacturing facility for cancer treatment
Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc., a San Diego oncology company focused on developing and commercializing primary allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat cancer, announced the expansion of the company’s U.S. facilities in San Diego.
The new 52,000-square-foot facility will include research and process development laboratories and a multi-suite custom-built Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) manufacturing center to support Artiva’s pipeline development and clinical trial supply.
Artiva’s San Diego NK cell therapy research and GMP manufacturing facility will be located at 5505 Morehouse Drive, a building being newly redeveloped by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. The facility build-out is already underway and is anticipated to be completed in 2022.
“We are honored that Artiva approached us to partner on the build-out of this critical new research and manufacturing center that will support the company in its mission to develop and deliver safe, effective and versatile cancer therapies,” said Daniel Ryan, co-chief investment officer and San Diego regional market director of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.
Cal State San Marcos part of grant to
improve speech outcomes for children
Cal State San Marcos is the co-recipient of a grant from the National Science Foundation through which it will work with an industry partner to improve outcomes for children with speech impairments.
Through the one-year, $250,293 grant from the Small Business Innovation Researcharm
of the NSF, the university will collaborate with Verboso, a Chicago-based company that uses state-of-the-art technology to create therapy video games with automated feedback.
The principal investigator for the grant from CSUSM is Alison Scheer-Cohen, an associate professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology who will conduct the research along with two student assistants. In partnership with San Diego Unified School District and Capistrano Unified School District, school-age students will be able to use automated technology to practice their speech at home. Scheer-Cohen and her team will collect participant recordings to produce a larger pediatric data set and refine the automated technology.
Partnerships expand COVID-19
Outreach to schools, homes, communities
Three new federal grants to San Diego State University researchers and community partners, totaling more than $9 million, are expanding SDSU’s already major role in outreach to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Focused on high-risk communities and schools, the grants will bring at-home COVID-19 testing to thousands of middle-school students, teachers, staff and their families, support efforts to expand vaccinations, and explore individualized intervention strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission in households.
Click here to read how each project aims to address the pandemic.
Cal State San Marcos receives national
award for student coaching program
Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM) has received national recognition for the innovative student coaching program that it launched last year, partly in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The university was selected to receive the 2021 AASCU Excellence and Innovation Award for Student Success. AASCU is the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, an organization based in Washington, D.C., of nearly 400 state-supported colleges and universities throughout the country.
CSUSM is being honored for its Office of Success Coaching, which started in the summer of 2020 with a goal of providing equitable and personalized student support services to all newly admitted students for one year. The coaching program was chosen by the awards committee for its outstanding results and potential to influence and serve as a model for other institutions.
The official recognition will come on Nov. 7 during the hybrid annual meeting of AASCU, with winners invited to attend virtually or in person at Clearwater, Fla.
Today is deadline for registering to vote in the
California Gubernatorial Recall Election
If you haven’t registered to vote in the Sept. 14 California Gubernatorial Recall Election and want to vote by mail, you need to register by today. Otherwise, you will need to make a trip in person to the Registrar’s office, or to any voting location, to register conditionally and vote provisionally.
You will need to register or re-register to vote if you: are not registered in San Diego County; recently moved; changed your name.
Not sure if you’re registered to vote? Check your registration status online at sdvote.com. If you’re not registered or need to change your registration, you will be able to complete an online registration form.
Early voting is already underway at the Registrar’s office in Kearny Mesa. Voters can cast their ballots there from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Voices for Children recognized by Human
Rights Campaign Foundation
Voices for Children has been recognized as a top-tier change-maker by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, which just released its third annual Change-Makers report. The local nonprofit organization, which transforms the lives of abused, abandoned, or neglected children by providing them with trained, volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), joins 119 child welfare agencies across the country who have worked with the HRC Foundation’s All Children – All Families (ACAF) program to improve the services they provide to the LGBTQ+ community, including children in foster care. These organizations serve more than 1 million clients annually across 35 states and employ more than 24,000 employees.
San Diego leaders host ribbon-cutting for
Blue Line Trolley’s Mid-Coast extension
San Diego officials and transportation leaders hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Mid-Coast Extension of the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley in anticipation of its full opening in November. The extension will provide a safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly way for San Diegans to access jobs, education and health care in San Diego’s University Town Center.
Shield AI raises $210 Million for AI drone tech
Shield AI has raised $210 million in a late-stage round of VC funding, valuing the company at more than $1 billion and making it San Diego’s newest unicorn. An AI startup that powers small military drones, Shield AI will hire additional engineeers in San Diego to support its growth.
LET’S FIND SAN DIEGANS OVER 80
Poland’s most gifted poet Stanislaw Jerzy Lec once said, “Youth is the gift of nature but age is a work of art.”
With this in mind, we’re looking to celebrate as many San Diegans 80 or over as we can find with your help.
The 2020 Census says there are more than 20 million Americans 80 years of age and older, including 97,000 who are 100.
We’re all living longer because we smoke less, drink less, eat better and exercise more.
Maybe 80 is the new 60!
Send us your nominations. Please go to our web site — www.sandiegometro.com– and complete the nomination form. Thank you.
