Daily Business Report: Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021
New report shows California’s life science industry
generating $131 billion annually in economic activity
California’s life science industry provides over 1.38 million jobs in the region, with economic activity generating a total of $131 billion in 2020 alone, according to a new report by Biocom California,
Biocom California’s 2021 Economic Impact Report highlights these key findings of the state’s life science industry, including information on economic, demographic, investment and industry performance.
Key facts from the report include the following:
• California received a total of $6.23 billion in research funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2020.
• In 2020, venture capital directed to California’s life science innovators soared more than 60 percent to a record total of $15 billion.
• Nearly 1,700 patents were granted in 2020.
San Diego County’s life science industry directly employed more than 72,000 people in 2020, generating $27.7 billion in GRP. Considering all multipliers, life sciences was responsible for nearly 178,000 jobs with total earnings of $16 billion. Research and Manufacturing represented 45 percent of life sciences direct employment, with Biotechnology following at about 18 percentof direct employment. San Diego County received nearly $1.2 billion in NIH funding.
TOP PHOTO: Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash
El Cajon multi-tenant industrial
project sells for $17.75 million
| A multi-tenant industrial project in El Cajon has sold for $17.75 million, which was among the largest multi-tenant industrial sales transactions in East County history, according to Commercial Asset Advisors (CAA). The buyer, PWI Greenfield L.P., purchased the property with the intention of modernizing and improving the project with sustainable landscaping and new paint, signage, parking lot asphalt and automated gates. The 99,135-square-foot project is comprised of five buildings and is located at 202-208 Greenfield Drive and 1308 Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon. It is a multi-tenant, industrial project comprised of over 35 tenants. The building is currently 99 percent occupied. CAA Principals Mike Conger and Brian Jenkins represented the buyer in the transaction. CAA will also be assisting with the future repositioning and leasing of the property. The seller, Almansor Properties L.P., was represented by Mark McEwen, Kurtis Blanchard, and Marc Posthumus of Colliers International. Outcry over granny flat construction in San Diego prompts rule change proposals Growing outcry over granny flat construction in some San Diego neighborhoods has prompted city officials to propose rolling back some recent policy changes that have made San Diego’s rules among the least restrictive in California. Critics who say the city’s granny flat rules are too lenient are calling the recently proposed rollback from Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera a good start, but they say it won’t prevent some property owners from destroying neighborhood character by building multiple granny flats in one back yard. Read more… |
New lawsuits show the tentacles of A3
charter scandal reached into other states
By Will Huntsberry | Voice of San Diego
If money-sucking scams are like vampire squids, then the A3 charter scandal had its tentacles all over California. Nineteen online charter schools pulled in thousands of students (some real, some not) from counties up and down the state. With each student came dollars — roughly $400 million of them.
But new lawsuits reveal the money didn’t stop flowing at California’s border.
Sean McManus and Jason Schrock, who pleaded guilty in February to charges that they led a conspiracy to defraud the public, invested millions of dollars in taxpayer funds into charter school operations in other states.
One deal pushed $1.9 million through a company called Fusion Ed in Utah for the “acquisition of various charter schools located in Arizona, Colorado and Ohio,” according to one lawsuit.
In another, $1.3 million went to a company called Zia Learning in Illinois.
Kratos receives $13.2 million C5ISR product awards
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc., a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced that its Command, Control, Communication, Computing, Combat System, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Business recently received approximately $13.2 million in program awards, including for a large U.S. National Security Program.
Kratos C5ISR business provides specialized manufacturing, products and solutions for critical National Security priorities and programs, including Nuclear Deterrence, Missile Defense, Radar, High Power Directed Energy, Unmanned Aerial Drone System, Space and Satellite Communication and CBRNE. Work under these recent contract awards will be performed at secure Kratos manufacturing and customer facilities. Due to customer, competitive, security related and other considerations, no additional information will be provided related to these recent contract awards.
2021 North County Excellence in
economic development awards announced
San Diego North Economic Development Council (SDNEDC) will host the third annual Excellence in North County Economic Development Awards Lunch on Dec. 16 at the Seabird Resort in Downtown Oceanside. At this event, awards will be presented that spotlight new businesses that have opened or relocated to North County, existing businesses that made significant expansions, new development and investments in our community, and policies and activities that make for a more economically competitive region. This recognition is awarded to nominees that are picked by a special committee comprised of board members of the Council.
Any city’s economic development manager, chamber of commerce leader, North County educational institution, or other interested partners can submit a nomination.
Self-nominations will also be accepted.
Suneva Medical completes $15 million capital raise
Suneva Medical Inc., a privately held aesthetics company, announced the recent closing of a $15 million capital raise that will allow the company to reduce existing debt and support the growth and expansion of Suneva Medical as the leader in regenerative aesthetics.
“The closing of this financing demonstrates the growing demand and market potential for facial regenerative treatments. We are excited to see further corroboration and support for our mission to lead the aesthetic industry into the future,” said Pat Altavilla, CEO of Suneva Medical.
The capital raise comes at a time when Suneva Medical has seen growth in both revenue and its portfolio of innovative regenerative aesthetics brands despite the challenges some companies have experienced during the pandemic.
Sinopia Biosciences awarded $3.3 million
to support new Parkinson’s disease studies
Sinopia Biosciences Inc., a San Diego clinical stage biotechnology company, has been awarded a $3.3 million Fast-Track SBIR grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, as part of the National Institutes of Health, to fund investigational new drug-enabling studies for Sinopia’s small molecule candidate for Parkinson’s disease.
“We are pleased to receive funding from the NIH to support the advancement of our Parkinson’s disease program towards the clinic,” said Iman Famili, president and chief executive officer of Sinopia Biosciences. “Parkinson’s disease affects nearly 7 million people worldwide and is the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world, with the number of patients expected to double by 2040. It’s a disease that imposes heavy burdens on patients and caregivers, particularly because current treatments are not optimal and have serious long-term liabilities with chronic use that must be addressed.”
MiraCosta College receives 2021
iCommute Diamond Award
For the third year in a row, MiraCosta College has received an iCommute Diamond Award recognizing employers in the San Diego region who have made strides to promote alternative commute choices in the workplace. San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) recognized the Fiscal Year 2021 Diamond Awards recipients with a virtual awards presentation on Sept. 21.
Diamond Award employers help commuters get to work or school without adding traffic to the region’s roads and freeways, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve mobility. This is accomplished by promoting alternatives to driving alone, like vanpool, carpool, walk, bike, transit, telework, or a combination of these.
Gov. Newsom signs landmark elections
legislation, including vote-by-mail
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a package of legislation to increase voter access and strengthen integrity in elections, including a bill to send all registered voters a vote-by-mail ballot.
In a move to increase access to democracy and enfranchise more voters, the governor signed AB 37 authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), permanently requiring a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to every active registered voter in the state. The practice of sending vote-by-mail ballots to every registered voter first began in California in 2020, and was extended through 2021, as a safety measure to counteract pandemic-related disruptions and resulted in record voter participation.
“The bill will permanently expand access and increase participation in our elections by making voting more convenient and meeting people where they are,” said Secretary of State Shirley Weber. “Vote-by-mail has significantly increased participation of eligible voters.”
Fighting fire with data science
The University of California San Diego has announced a joint appointment with Los Alamos National Laboratory with the appointment of Senior Scientist Rodman Linn to a three-year position with the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI).
Linn’s expertise lies in solving and modeling problems involving complex thermal, mechanical and fluid dynamics systems, including wildfire behavior. This is the university’s first joint appointment with a national laboratory in this area and the first joint appointment program between Los Alamos and a UC campus.
Although interest in joint appointments between the UC-affiliated national laboratories and the UC campuses goes back decades, the establishment of the Southern Hub in 2020 helped put the pieces into place.
UC San Diego Health earns high quality
marks, saves Medicare money
UC San Diego Health Accountable Care Network improved care for more than 32,000 Medicare beneficiaries in San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial Counties, and saved Medicare close to $7 million by utilizing modern population health technologies and processes to exceed quality and cost goals in 2020, according to recently released performance data from the federal agency that administers Medicare.
The UC San Diego Health Accountable Care Network earned a quality score of 97 percent on performance measures ranging from preventive health checks to use of computerized health records to preventing avoidable hospitalizations, Medicare data show.
UC San Diego Health Accountable Care Network includes Perlman Medical Offices, San Diego Sports Medicine, North Coast Family Medicine, Rancho Family Medical Group, Imperial Valley Family Care, and dozens of other groups that serve San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial Counties.
