Daily Business Report: Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022
California to end COVID-19 state of emergency
CalMatters
California’s COVID-19 state of emergency will end Feb. 28, 2023, nearly three years from its initiation, officials from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced today.
The announcementcame as new variants spur concerns that there will be another deadly winter surge across the country and as test positivity rates plateau in California following a nearly three-month decline. More than 95,000 Californians have died as a result of COVID-19, according to state data.
The state of emergency gave Newsom broad, often controversial, powers to issue masking and vaccination mandates and temporary stay-at-home orders in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. It also enabled the governor to enter into nearly $12 billion dollars worth of no-bid emergency response contracts with testing facilities, personal protective equipment suppliers and temporary workforce agencies. Some of those contracts were with untested vendors who failed to deliver services.
San Diego’s life sciences cluster examined
San Diego Regional EDC’s latest study quantifies the economic impact of San Diego’s Life Sciences cluster and explores the proliferation of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies being used to diagnose disease and develop drugs, among other lifesaving products and solutions.
Study findings include:
• San Diego’s life sciences cluster boasts a $27 billion annual economic impact
• The San Diego region has nearly three times as many life sciences jobs as the national average
• San Diego has more thasn 15,000 artificial intelligence and machine learning professionals across all industries.
• The San Diego region commanded more than 13 percent of domestic venture funding into the life sciences cluster in 2021.
Airport Authority hosts virtual ‘Meet the Primes’ event
San Diego County Regional Airport Authority will host two virtual “Meet the Primes” events on Nov. 1 and 8. First introduced in 2015, “Meet the Primes” is a free annual event for the business community to connect with and learn from the Airport Authority, the Airport Authority’s partners, San Diego’s small business support service centers, and public agencies.
Attendees will learn how to do business with the Airport Authority, construction and concession opportunities for the New T1 program, and more. Attendees will also learn about regional teaming, partnership, and contracting opportunities through one-on-one matchmaking meetings with prime contractors and Airport Authority departments including Small Business Development, Revenue Generation & Partnership Development, Accounting, Airport Design & Construction, Procurement, Quieter Home Program, Information & Technology Services, Labor Compliance, Finance, and Risk Management.
The “Meet the Primes” event and virtual matchmaking sessions will be conducted virtually on November 1 and 8. The event is free to businesses and registration is now open at https://mtp2022.mbmapp.com/. For more information on the Airport Authority’s Small Business Development Program, visit san.org/smallbusiness.
Founders First CDC to award another
round of grants to San Diego businesses
Founders First CDC, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization, announced the second wave of its Job Creators Quest Grant which will award $100,000 to support minority and underrepresented business owners. The grant opened for submission Tuesday and will remain open through Nov. 14, 2022. Thirty grants will be awarded to diverse-led companies with a staff of 2-20 employees and the ability to add 1-2 net new premium wage jobs in the next 12 months.
To be eligible, the company’s founder must be Black, indigenous, a person of color, LGBTQIA+, military veteran, a woman or located in a low to moderate-income area, and be a for-profit company with annual revenues between $100,000 to $3 million.
The purpose of the Job Creators Quest Grant is to help business owners create premium-wage jobs and reward diverse-led businesses throughout Southern California. Founders First CDC aims to retain and grow the workforce as the area emerges from the pandemic and amid threats of an economic recession. This will help to positively impact the local economy, create jobs with higher wages and provide the human capital needed for businesses to grow and expand.
Qualified business owners may visit foundersfirstcdc.org/socal/ to apply for the grant.
Illumina, GenoScreen partner to comarket
genomic testing for multi-drug resistant TB
GenomeWeb
Illumina said on Tuesday that it has partnered with French company GenoScreen on genomic testing for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Under the terms of the partnership, the firms will package Illumina next-generation sequencing reagents with GenoScreen’s Deeplex Myc-TB assay, a targeted sequencing assay for the detection of TB and other bacteria and the prediction of resistance to 15 antibiotics. Financial and other details of the partnership were not disclosed.
“Through our partnership, we will enable lower-income countries to confront the pervasive threat of TB and work toward eliminating it,” said Phil Febbo, chief medical officer at Illumina. “The COVID-19 pandemic response led to expanded NGS capacity around the world, so now institutions have the platforms needed to support testing for TB drug resistance and improve survival for patients with TB, the leading infectious disease killer prior to COVID.”
Epstein Family Amphitheater debut events
to showcase talent from UCSD and beyond
By Amanda Rubalcava
The Epstein Family Amphitheater, a state-of-the-art outdoor entertainment venue at UC San Diego, is less than a week away from its debut. To provide a first look at the new 2,650-seat amphitheater, the university has curated an array of debut events for students, staff, faculty and local community members alike. The lineup of events kick off Oct. 20, giving guests a preview of San Diego’s newest destination for arts, culture and entertainment. The audience will enjoy sights and sounds from local and international talent, as well as film screenings, a community marketplace and much more.
Among the list of highly anticipated events is An Evening of Celebration with the San Diego Symphony on Oct. 21. Alongside well-loved pieces of classical music from Igor Stravinsky and Samuel Barber, this special engagement will spotlight talent from some of UC San Diego’s music faculty and alumni. An amphitheater dedication ceremony will also be held as part of the event.
Kaberi Banerjee Murthy named chief impact
officer for The Conrad Prebys Foundation
Kaberi Banerjee Murthy, former chief impact officer for Meyer Memorial Trust in Oregon, has been named the chief impact officer for The Conrad Prebys Foundation.
At Meyer Memorial Trust, Murthy led strategy, advocacy, grantmaking and evaluation to transform the $1.2 billion trust into a nationally respected force for racial and gender justice.
Murthy will work directly with CEO Grant Oliphant, CFO Gil Alvarado, and strategic partnerships adviser Julie Dubick to define the foundation’s vision and strategy for bold and varied approaches to investing place-based philanthropic capital to achieve the greatest possible impact for the community. In addition, she will steer the foundation’s work to operationalize its programmatic objectives.
In addition to her philanthropic experience, Banerjee Murthy brings extensive board experience, currently serving on the board of directors for the Neighborhood Funders Group, Philanthropy Northwest and Portland Art Museum.
Kroger agrees to buy Albertsons
In a mega-deal that could have a huge impact on grocery shopping in America, Kroger and Albertsons announced Friday plans to merge. If approved by regulators, the nearly $25 billion deal would be one of the biggest in US retail history. The proposed merger, which the companies expect to complete in 2024, would combine the fifth and tenth largest retailers in the country. The companies own dozens of chains, including Safeway, Vons, Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer and reach a combined 85 million households.
Procopio recognized for leadership diversity
Procopio has for the second straight year achieved a coveted Mansfield Certification Plus recognition from legal diversity incubator Diversity Lab, its top diversity ranking. Procopio was recognized as a Mansfield 5.0 Certification Plus firm for not only taking deliberate steps to expand the list of those considered for leadership positions, but also achieving diverse leadership representation. The Plus recognition for 2021 and 2022 follows Procopio first achieving Mansfield certification in 2020. Procopio collaborated with Diversity Lab over a 12-month certification period with built-in measurement, transparency, and accountability mechanisms to achieve this recognition.
Free lunch with CBS chief Washington correspondent
The Coronado Public Library and SDSU’s School of Journalism & Media Studies will host a free luncheon on Saturday to recognize U.S. Media Literacy Week. Attendees will hear about the work of the Community News Team Project, which will be celebrating the launch of its website, FACTLY (Facts, Accountability, Clarity, Truth, Library and You). The luncheon also will feature a keynote address by Major Garrett, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News and co-author of “The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of ‘The Big Lie.’”
The event is free, but you must RSVP HERE.
U.S. Army and General Atomics flight UAS software
The U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft System Project Office and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) successfully performed the first flight test of a new U.S. Army Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) ground segment for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended RangeUnmanned Aircraft System. The test took place at Ft. Stewart, Ga. in coordination with Product Manager Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems and the B Co,
224. General Atomics successfully flight tested the new Ground Modernization Software Suite that was hosted on an Army prototype of a Gray Eagle Miniature Mission Interface on Sept. 27, 2022.
New rides to open in 2023 in SeaWorld parks
SeaWorld announced that a new first-of-its-kind coaster will open in each of its parks in Spring 2023. They include the world’s first surf coaster in Orlando, the longest and fastest straddle coaster in San Diego, and the world’s first launched flume coaster in San Antonio. Annual Pass members will be among the first to ride with exclusive ride times. SeaWorld San Diego’s newest family friendly coaster, “Arctic Rescue”, will launch guests at up to 40 mph on a chilly adventure as they race through the unpredictable arctic climate to help animals in danger.
Gina Grayum joins Juno Diagnostics’ leadership team
Juno Diagnostics, a San Diego company focused on bringing vital health information to patients by improving access, affordability and transparency, announced the addition of Gina Grayum to its commercial leadership team. Grayum brings more than a decade of diagnostics sales and management experience to JunoDx, most recently as U.S. sales director, women’s health for Invitae Corporation. Prior to Invitae, Grayum was clinical accounts irector at GenePeeks, a genetic research company, where she launched a new preconception screen. Grayum was also a senior business development manager at Sequenom, where she was one of the first employees in the sales organization and helped launch the first non-invasive prenatal test in the market.
Jack in the Box opens new store prototype in Oklahoma
San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc. introduced its new off-premise-only restaurant prototype with the opening of a new location in Tulsa, Okla. The new prototype was designed to meet the continued increasing demand for drive-thru service and digital ordering. At only 1,350 square feet, the restaurant features a double y-lane drive-thru, a walk-up window for ordering, dual assembly kitchens and a dedicated pick-up window for mobile and third-party delivery orders. The goal of the new prototype is to reduce buildout costs by around 20 percent, while also increasing real estate flexibility. The new model is designed for free-standing locations, but can be adapted to fit in a variety of spaces such as C-stores, travel plazas, and end-cap locations.
Feriandas Greblikas joins ADARx Pharmaceuticals
ADARx Pharmaceuticals Inc., a San Diego biotechnology company developing RNA-targeting therapeutics, announced the further expansion of their leadership team and clinical development capabilities through the appointment of Feriandas Greblikas, M.D. as vice president of clinical development. Greblikas joins ADARx as ADX-324 for the treatment of hereditary angioedema is set to start phase I clinical trials later this year and two additional drug candidates are expected to enter clinical trials next year. Greblikas is an established physician-scientist with more than 10 years of extensive experience in drug development, medical oversight, clinical trial planning and execution.
