Daily Business Report: Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022
There’s a new No. 1 crop in San Diego County
San Diego County has a new No. 1 crop for the first time in 12 years. Bedding Plants, Color & Perennials, Cacti & Succulents increased 13.1 percent in value to $488.4 million in the 2021 growing season — the highest value ever for a top crop in the county.
The previous No. 1 crop, Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, dropped by 11.5 percent to $382.4 million, according to the county’s new crop report.
The report noted, however, that total crop and commodity values fell for the first time from the previous year since 2018, by nearly 3.2 percent from $1.8 billion. And it reported a historic decrease in value for one of San Diego’s most famous crops, avocados, which fell below $100 million in value for the first time in Crop Reports dating back 25 years to 1996.
Avocados shrank by 46 percent, from roughly $153 million to $82.8 million, driven by hot, dry weather according to the report. In addition to dipping below $100 million for the first time, avocados also dropped out of top four of the Top 10 crops for the first time since 2003.
The commodity that earned the biggest increase in value in the new report was Livestock and Poultry products, which jumped by 36 percent.
Scripps Research professor K. Barry Sharpless
receives 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Scripps Research professor K. Barry Sharpless, PhD, has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his groundbreaking research in developing “click chemistry,” an ingenious method for building molecules.
Sharpless, the W.M. Keck Professor of Chemistry, shares the prize with Carolyn R. Bertozzi of Stanford University and Morten Meldal of the University of Copenhagen for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry, according to the Nobel Prize committee.
Sharpless previously shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions, making him the second scientist ever to win two Nobel Prizes in chemistry. Frederick Sanger won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1958 and 1980.
“Click chemistry”—a term Sharpless coined—is a set of methods for constructing chemical compounds via irreversible, highly efficient reactions between smaller molecules.
BlueNalu says it has cracked the code to
significant profitability in first large-scale facility
BlueNalu, a global leader in the development of cell-cultured seafood, announced that it has unlocked the path to significant profitability in its first large-scale facility due, in part, to a series of breakthrough technologies. These technologies are expected to drastically reduce both operating and capital costs for large-scale production, and when combined with the company’s premium product and market focus, will enable a projected 75 percent gross margin. The company’s first product will be bluefin tuna toro, a highly prized and specialty portion that commands premium pricing across global markets.
BlueNalu said it has developed breakthrough technologies that pave the way to scalability and significant cost reduction, advancing the company towards its goal to produce nutritional, functional, and high-value seafood products. These include a non-GMO, single-cell suspension line with high growth rates that are expected to accelerate the company’s scale-up to large bioreactors.
Chamber virual workshop will help women
land seats on boards and commissions
The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting a virtual workshop on Oct. 14 to help prepare women to land a seat on a regional board or commission. The All Our Talent Boards & Commissions Workshop will focus on city, county, and nonprofit boards and commissions and provide concrete tools to women to position themselves for board seats.
Featured speakers:
• Wendy Urushima-Conn, president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County
• Chida Warren-Darby, director of appointments/commissions, City of San Diego
• Andrew Potter, executive officer/clerk of the Board of Supervisors.
The workshop on Oct. 14 will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon via Zoom. There is no cost to participate and registration is open to all. Register here.
Kite’s Oceanside facility receives FDA
approval to manufacture viral vectors
Oceanside-based Kite, the cell therapy company producing viral vectors in-house, has received FDA approval to commercially manufacture viral vectors. Viral vectors are an essential component in the making of Kite’s cell therapies that are used to treat specific indications of Leukemia and Lymphoma. Kite is the only cell therapy company to have in-house viral vector manufacturing capabilities both for commercial products and clinical trials.
Kite’s global head of technical operations Chris McDonald tells Endpoints News that the facility has been in the works for about four years, after Kite teamed up with its parent company Gilead. Gilead acquired Kite Pharma for just shy of $12 billion in 2017.
San Marcos one of Fortune’s
’25 Best Places to Live for Families’
San Marcos was picked as one of the Fortune “25 Best Places to Live for Families” — especially for multi-generational families — out of a group of nearly 2,000 cities and towns across the country that had 25,000 to 750,000 residents. San Marcos, with a population of roughly 95,000, was ranked as No. 20. See a full list of the 25 cities here.
The ranking looked at communities that best served the “Sandwich Generation” — those raising children, caring for aging parents, and working at full-time jobs. The study considered city and community resources that helped multigenerational families, such as housing, high-quality schools with high graduation rates, affordable nearby colleges, high-quality nursing homes, assisted living communities, home health care services, and prompt access to good health care providers.
Gafcon Inc. has appointed Cade McMullin
as vice president, PM/CM business line
Gafco. Inc. has appointed Cade McMullin as vice presiden for its Project Management/Construction Management (PM/CM) business line. McMillin is a highly respected construction executive with a broad range of experience, having worked in program and construction management, engineering, inspections, and as a general contractor.
He will be based out of Gafcon’s San Diego corporate headquarters.
With over 20 years of experience working in construction, McMullin has managed programs and projects for educational institutions, health care organizations, and other clients.
City College receives $2 million grant
to support Asian American and Native
American Pacific Islander students
San Diego City College has been awarded a $2 million Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The grant, which will provide $400,000 a year over the next five years, will fund the Including City Achievement Network or ICAN program and enable the college to improve and expand its capacity to serve Asian American, Native American Pacific Islander students, and low-income individuals.San Diego City College serves more than 25,000 students annually with 13 percent of students identifying as Asian American or Native American Pacific Islander.
Art of Marketing conference set for Oct. 31
The San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association will host “The Art of Marketing: The Future is WOW Conference” on Oct. 21 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the new Knauss Center of Business Education building and the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice building at University of San Diego. The conference will feature marketing expert speakers from major brands discuss the future of marketing.
Early registrations are encouraged as spots are limited. Reserve tickets here. Tickets also include entry to the opening conference reception the night before at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
Escondido incubator could revive North County’s ag industry
A vacant, city-owned industrial building could become a hub for new businesses in the field of agricultural technology under a proposal now being explored by Escondido officials. The idea is to turn the empty building at 455 N. Quince St. — most recently used as a mattress factory and warehouse — into an incubator where researchers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists could come together to hatch new companies that would serve North County’s agriculture industry.
MiraCosta College to start construction on
new Chemistry and Biotechnology Building
MiraCosta College will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Oct. 17, at 10:30 a.m. to mark the start of construction of the new Chemistry and Biotechnology Building at its Oceanside campus. The new building will provide a state-of-the-art facility with chemistry and biochemistry labs and two 40-seat flexible classrooms. The building will provide needed space for growth and is a major component of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) quad and plaza. The $46.9 million project is scheduled to be completed in summer 2024 and is funded through MiraCosta’s capital improvement program using funds from Measure MM.
Blenders Eyewear and Keep a Breast continue partnership
San Diego-based Blenders Eyewear announced a partnership with Keep A Breast, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization focused on breast cancer prevention and education.
As a part of its official philanthropic program, Blenders Cares, the eyewear brand will provide support and monetary donations to the organization for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since 2017, Blenders Eyewear has teamed up with Keep A Breast to support its mission in breast cancer awareness and prevention. The company has donated over $200,000 to the organization over the years.
GTCR announces partnership to form Bluecrest LLC
GTCR, a leading private equity firm, announced a partnership with David Inns, Lynn Herrick and Bill Yates to form Blucrest LLC. Based in San Diego, Blucrest will seek to acquire companies and assets to build a high-growth consumer services business focused on solutions that simplify people’s lives.
GTCR, the firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth – will invest in Blucrest from GTCR Fund XIII, a private equity fund with $7.5 billion of limited partner capital commitments alongside substantial investments from Inns, Herrick and Yates.
Specialized Packaging Group acquires
San Diego-based Pacific Pulp Molding
Specialized Packaging Group (SPG), a vertically integrated provider of protective packaging products, announced that the company has acquired San Diego-based Pacific Pulp Molding Inc. Pacific Pulp is a leading manufacturer of molded pulp and molded fiber products —packaging made from recycled material, such as paperboard or newsprint – for applications across a diverse array of end markets and a nationwide customer base.
SPG, one of the largest independent protective packaging manufacturers in North America, is a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners. The acquisition will enhance SPG’s existing capability set in its ProtecPac division, expanding the company’s product offerings and geographic reach while adding approximately 50 employees to its 1,600-person workforce. Pacific Pulp leadership and the company’s full workforce will continue to operate in their current locations in San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico.
Lineage Cell Therapeutics establishes
new R&D facility in Carlsbad
Lineage Cell Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing allogeneic cell therapies for unmet medical needs, announced the opening of a new research and development facility in Carlsbad, and the expansion of its Good Manufacturing Practice manufacturing facility based in Jerusalem, Israel. Lineage’s new Carlsbad facility will broaden the company’s R&D capabilities in the U.S. and support the development of current and future allogeneic cell transplant programs. The expansion of Lineage’s Israel-based facility will increase the company’s infrastructure, including development and optimization of larger-scale clinical manufacturing processes, and continued execution under its ongoing collaboration with Roche and Genentech for RG6501 (OpRegen), a retinal pigment epithelium cell replacement therapy.
Airport Authority releases annual sustainability report
The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has released the organization’s 2021-2022 Sustainability Report which can be viewed at sustain.san.org. The Sustainability Report serves as a useful barometer for San Diego International Airport’s relationship to the environment, the traveling public, its stakeholders, and the greater San Diego community.
“As the gateway to our region, San Diego International Airport must demonstrate leadership along the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social, economic – with the goal of thoughtful stewardship of the region’s treasures and resources,” said Kimberly Becker, Airport Authority president and CEO.
