The biotech-boosting model that’s proved effective in San Diego is being replicated in Los Angeles (and farther north) as local trade group Biocom expands throughout the state.
The organization’s president and CEO, Joe Panetta, said connecting life science hubs throughout California — and bridging those hubs with economic engines overseas — will boost the state’s already booming life science industry.
“What makes us strong as a state is the fact that we’ve got diverse life science clusters that have their own ecosystems, their own networks, and their own strengths,” Panetta said. “Our opportunity is to bridge those clusters, and combine the strengths when necessary.”
Biocom opened a Los Angeles office in 2016, and plans to connect the city’s disjointed, but promising life science cluster.
“When we looked at the data, it was clear that L.A. was a powerhouse, but it has never been brought together in a homogeneous way,” Panetta said. “The various sectors that support life science don’t work together the way that they do here in San Diego.”
$32 Billion Impact
San Diego’s ultra-collaborative nature is somewhat unique to the city, and it’s possible that its tight-knit structure is a direct result of Biocom’s decades-long efforts. it’s possible that its tight-knit structure is a direct result of Biocom’s decades-long efforts.
Today, the region’s science hub is the darling of the local business community, churning out medicines and other discoveries that amount to $32 billion in economic impact per year in San Diego.
Like all ecosystems, the maturation of the local biotech industry resulted from a great many influences, including the success of early ventures such as Hybritech Inc. and the presence of top-notch academic institutions.
But the city’s innovators have had a powerful force working on their behalf through Biocom, which started as a grassroots effort and has evolved into an organization with global reach.
“Biocom is likely the best story of economic collaboration you can find,” said Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. (EDC).
From Protection to Advocacy
Biocom started as a scrappy coalition in 1995 founded by local executives looking to protect a fledgling industry. Founders met in spare board rooms, and discussed the challenges they all shared. The most detrimental, perhaps, was that outsiders (often politicians and local leaders) rarely understood the impact of this very insular group of scientists.
“It was very clear that they had no idea about the potential for the industry and the potential impact it could have on the city of San Diego,” said David Hale, a local biotech investor, serial entrepreneur, and founding board member of Biocom.
Over the years, Biocom has built strong connections between the life science industry and the resources they need. The group has worked closely with the San Diego Regional EDC to promote the city as a top hub for scientific research, global partnership, foreign direct investment, and science jobs.
Biocom has also worked to connect small and mid-sized biotechs with capital across the globe.
“A big advantage for smaller companies like ours is that Biocom connects us with angel investors,” said Stephane Richard, president and chief operating officer of cancer software firm CureMatch Inc. and a member of Biocom.
The organization has evolved into a powerhouse of influence, building connections and spreading its reach throughout California and around the globe.
Biocom nearly doubled its headcount in 2016, now employing 45 people and hiring several others. The group, which has 850 members, has a presence in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Tokyo.
Panetta sat down with the San Diego Business Journal to discuss Biocom’s evolution from a regional organization to a statewide one. This interview was lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Why did Biocom branch out statewide? What need did you identify? There are other trade groups for the industry in California – CLSA (California Life Sciences Association), for example – so what does Biocom bring to the table?
California is the sixth-largest economy in the world, and larger than most countries. It’s like a small nation of 40 million people. It doesn’t make sense to build a one-size-fits-all umbrella statewide organization, which is what CLSA has done. We don’t believe that’s the way California has evolved.
Our strategy going forward is to consider Southern California, Northern California, and Central California as almost three separate provinces. We began to shift gears last year to focus on building a statewide life science community that derives its strength through the growth of its three clusters: San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area.
I’m comfortable with the coexistence of CLSA and Biocom, as (the organizations are) complementary to each other.
Here in San Diego you have history, a network, and headquarters. Are you able to offer the same level of support in LA and the Bay Area?
We’re going to evolve those organizations the same way we did in San Diego. We know what it took to get Biocom off the ground in the beginning. We held monthly breakfast meetings, an annual conference, roundtables with elected officials, and we formed targeted committees focused on facilities management, environmental health and safety and local government affairs.
We’ll do the same in other regions, but they’ll have an added benefit. They’ll have the strength of the staff here in San Diego to back them up.
Does opening an office in Los Angeles or other regions bring any benefit to San Diego companies?
The access to global markets that L.A. has is almost mindboggling compared to here in San Diego. That creates an opportunity for companies in San Diego to take advantage of potential partnerships with companies in L.A. and expand our global footprint here through relationships we can build in Los Angeles.
So I’ve been asked before, ‘are you splitting your time, are you splitting your resources…’
Are you bailing on San Diego?
(Laughs) No, we’re not the Chargers. No, we’re not going to be L.A. Biocom. We think we can synergize what goes on in life science, research, development, commercialization, and access to global markets by building the L.A. community.
There’s been a lot of talk about the growth in L.A.’s life science community. If we’re talking about attracting companies and talent how does San Diego set itself apart when you have an increasingly impressive competitor nearby?
San Diego has 40 years of history in life science. We have serial entrepreneurs here who have started dozens of companies each, and a service community that’s evolved here over time. We have more than 100 contract research organizations in our membership. Those folks will benefit significantly because that expertise doesn’t exist in Los Angeles, so they’ll have the opportunity to increase their business by working with companies in L.A.
San Diego has already begun creating a reputation and prominence in personalized medicine, the development of genetic sequencing tools, and the analytical tools that go with it. We have more than 100 oncology companies in San Diego. I’m not worried at all about Los Angeles surpassing San Diego. First because we have this long history of experience down here, and second because we’re defining ourselves globally as a center of precision medicine.
I don’t know how L.A. will define itself over time. It’s an enormous challenge that they’ll have. I don’t see any particular concentration in L.A. and no central life science cluster (geographically).
