Daily Business Report: Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022
New CIRM grant to fund research internships
For underrepresented high school students
By Miles Martin
Thanks to a new grant awarded to Sanford Burnham Prebys by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), 57 California high school students from underrepresented groups will have the chance to complete a paid internship at the Institute for the next five consecutive summers.
The $509,000 grant was awarded to Paula Checchi, Alessandra Sacco, and Evan Snyder.
The mission of CIRM is to accelerate stem cell research and provide treatment to patients with unmet medical needs. And although CIRM directly funds faculty, many of their initiatives also focus on training the next generation of stem cell researchers.
Late last year, Sanford Burnham Prebys received $5 million from CIRM to fund new training programs aimed at Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers.
“One of the benefits of a program like this is that we’ll be able to inspire students early to pursue biomedical research,” says Checchi, a principal investigators on the grant and longtime educator of high school and undergraduate students. “A lot of students might not even realize that pursuing a STEM degree is an option for them, and that’s something we want to change.”
The new grant was awarded as part of CIRM’s SPARK Training Program, a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative that targets high school students without access to summer research internship opportunities due to socioeconomic constraints. This grant is one of 11 awarded by CIRM to research institutions across California.
Epstein Family Foundation donates $50 million
to USC and UC San Diego for Alzheimer’s research
A joint gift to the University of Southern California (USC) and UC San Diego totaling $50 million from the Epstein Family Foundation will drive Alzheimer’s research and accelerate the search for treatments and a cure.
The donation establishes the Epstein Family Alzheimer’s Research Collaboration at USC and UC San Diego.
The gift will be split evenly, with $25 million going to each institution.
The funding will support existing research at each university and will spark new collaborative efforts to discover effective therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.
This disease also has touched the family of Daniel (Dan) and Phyllis Epstein: Dan’s identical twin brother, David, suffered from Alzheimer’s for 15 years and passed away recently as a result of the disease. With their gift, the Epsteins hope to drive research that can change the trajectory of the sobering statistics.
Paracrine receives FDA approval to launch
Trial in patients with hand dysfunction
Paracrine Inc. announced that the FDA has granted full approval of its request to conduct a pivotal trial designed to provide data on the safety and efficacy of
adipose derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) in the treatment of patients with hand dysfunction due to diffuse cutaneous scleroderma.
The study is called, Scleroderma Treatment with Celution Processed Adipose Derived Regenerative Cells: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Study – the “STAR II Trial.”
“There are no curative treatments available for hand dysfunction. Results of prior studies of Celution-processed ADRCs found that the therapy was well tolerated and showed preliminary evidence of efficacy in this patient population,” said Dr. Dinesh Khanna, professor of rheumatology at the University of Michigan, the largest Scleroderma Clinical Center in the U.S., and co-principal investigator for the STAR and the STAR II Trials. “STAR II is a large, well-designed pivotal phase III trial that assesses the clinical benefits of Celution-processed ADRCs in patients with diffuse cutaneous scleroderma and hand dysfunction, a large unmet need.”
City of San Diego awarded state grant
to support Cannabis Business Division
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) has awarded a $764,261 grant to the City of San Diego’s Cannabis Business Division to develop tools necessary to help businesses comply with local and state laws.
The funds will be used to:
• Develop a web portal that will automate and streamline the tracking and upload of annual self-compliance requirements.
• Procure equipment and software to inspect, track and actively regulate licensed businesses.
• Hire a consultant to help applicants navigate the permitting process.
• Ensure equitable opportunities to enter the legal cannabis market are available for populations and communities disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition.
• Fund training and education for licensees on applicable City and state regulations and requirements.
Ken Weixel, former Deloitte managing
partner in San Diego, joins Procopio
Life sciences and health care industry leader Kenneth Weixel has joined Procopio Business Advisors (PBA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves and Savtich LLP, as a senior growth advisor.
Weixel, the former managing partner of the San Diego office of Deloitte LLP, brings decades of experience working with life sciences and health care companies of all sizes and in all stages of growth as a trusted advisor on corporate governance, effective controls, mergers and acquisitions and transparent financial reporting.
Weixel will advise and assist Procopio’s expanding Life Sciences team in this newly created position, providing strategic guidance as Procopio continues to support the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device ecosystem throughout California.
A certified public accountant, Weixel will work alongside Procopio’s Life Sciences, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and corporate attorneys in San Diego and beyond in assisting these innovators grow their businesses from funding to exit.
Molly Rast joins TW2 Marketing
as an account coordinator
Molly Rast has joined TW2 Marketing Inc. as an account coordinator. In her role, Rast will broaden client relations through news release development and distribution, social media planning, media and account coordination and more.
Rast has gained valuable experience working with clients in the property development industry while working with Over the Moon Sales & Advertising in San Diego as an account manager and the director of brand communications.
In 2018, Rast held a public relations internship with an independent artist development label based in Arizona, where she facilitated promotional efforts, target audience research, event recruitment and video editing for both clientele and the label.
She also led the event coordination process for an industry seminar held at Rock and Roll San Diego with former Sony Music A&R consultant Loren Israel.
Rast received her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies from San Diego State University in 2021
11th Annual Women’s Week Coming
The 11th annual Women’s Week is coming soon and SD METRO is proud to be its media sponsor for its principal sponsor and founding organization, the North San Diego Business Chamber.
The chamber is bringing in Liz Goodgold, among other outstanding speakers, to talk about How to Futureproof Your Personal Brand and Career.
So we’re going to add a feature in our Women’s Week issue, to also highlight San Diego Women of Accomplishment, to compliment the outstanding women who are the focus of the Chamber’s .
Please send in your nominations now before our Feb. 9 deadline.
SDG&E and Cleveland National Forest
Complete fire-hardening project
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and the Cleveland National Forest announced the completion of the Cleveland National Forest Fire Hardening and Safety (CNF) Project, a cornerstone of the San Diego region’s community fire safety and electric system-hardening efforts.
The CNF project encompassed a variety of wood-to-steel pole conversions and replacement or undergrounding of equipment to improve the fire-resistance of electric infrastructure throughout approximately 880 square miles in eastern San Diego, including the communities of Julian, Pauma Valley, Descanso, Pine Valley, Mount Laguna and Campo.
“This is an enormous accomplishment for our region and the result of incredible partnerships at the local, state and federal levels, as well as the patience of so many of our customers whose lives have been disrupted over the life of the project,” said Caroline Winn, SDG&E’s chief executive officer.
Planning and design for one of the first fire-hardening programs to be developed by SDG&E followed devasting 2003 and 2007 wildfires, and construction began shortly after the company received unanimous approval from the CPUC and a Master Use Permit from the United States Forest Service in 2016.
Attorney Anna Burnett joins
Higgs Fletcher & Mack in San Diego
Higgs Fletcher & Mack (HFM) is proud to welcome attorney Anna Burnett, who will be part of the firm’s Corporate & Securities Law and Real Estate Law Practice Groups.
Burnett’s practice is focused on corporate and entity matters and real estate transactions.
Earlier in her career, Burnett gained an understanding of the real estate industry as a project manager for a San Diego-based real estate development and investment company.
Her legal experience also includes business planning, entity formation and maintenance, contract matters, and a broad range of real estate transactions.
Burnett’s involvement in San Diego’s legal community includes serving on the board of directors for the San Diego Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society, and she is a member of the California Lawyers Association and the San Diego County Bar Association.
She has served on the Building Industry Association of San Diego’s y|GEN Young Leaders Board, as well as the board secretary for the BUILD SD PAC.
She is a member of the Young Leaders Group of the Urban Land Institute, San Diego – Tijuana Chapter.
Neurelis signs exclusive pact with Aculys
Pharma for development of nasal spray
Neurelis Inc. announced that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Aculys Pharma Inc. for the development and commercialization of VALTOCO (diazepam nasal spray) in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region which includes Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The parties will work with the regulatory agencies to define the appropriate indication to pursue under the agreement.
Craig C. Chambliss, president and chief executive officer of Neurelis, said, “In most parts of the world there is a high unmet need for people with epilepsy to have a convenient, reliable, nasally administered acute treatment for episodes of frequent seizure activity that can be used outside of the medical setting. We are very pleased to partner with Aculys to work towards bringing this innovative treatment to Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Enrique Carrazana, M.D., Neurelis Chief Medical Officer, added, “The long-term clinical study of VALTOCO covers 4,390 seizure events and provides supportive evidence of its safety, effectiveness and tolerability.”
Diazepam has been used as an injectable therapeutic agent for the treatment of certain types of seizures for more than 60 years in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. It has also been available as a suppository in some markets.
San Diego’s Diagenta and Trinity Wellness
And Recovery launch new service
San Diego-based Diagenta and Trinity Wellness Recovery have entered into an agreement to launch the DiaBag platform into the plastic surgery aftercare market.
“I am very excited to be working with Trinity Wellness Recovery and together, we are going to take telemedicine to the next level to provide their clients with pre-op assessment and hospital-grade patient monitoring after elective surgeries,” said Gelena Lifchitz, CEO Diagenta.
Said Erion Taylor, CEO of Trinity Wellness Recovery, “Our partnership with Diagenta will allow us the opportunity to provide a higher level of care to our clients, ease of communication with their surgeons, and a continuity of care for our nurses. For my company, this has been an unparalleled service. This platform is the most effective tool to interface with surgeons and quickly send reports and video conferences in situations that require an immediate response.”
