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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Help From the Public Sector Seen as Crucial for Firms

In early February, Ventura County business leaders, educators, government officials and others met to discuss strategies to retail the talent castoffs from pharmaceutical giant Amgen. While no definitive answers came from that meeting, what could be agreed upon is the silver lining to the layoffs from Amgen headquarters last fall those scientists sticking around to start new biotech companies. It’s development the region has not seen much of despite Amgen’s long presence in the Conejo Valley. “Given (Amgen’s) dominant place in the economy there hasn’t been a lot of spin-off from it,” said Bruce Stenslie, president and CEO of Economic Development Collaborative Ventura County. When those spin-offs come, Stenslie and others in the public sector will welcome them with whatever assistance they can. Sometimes it comes in the form of money, other times in a phone number for a real estate broker with a hot piece of property perfect for a start-up or just general encouragement in their endeavors. Help from the public sector with life science companies with their well-educated workforce and high-paying jobs is critical because other states and countries are more than happy to lure them away. Historically, such things have happened in the region when a company completes research and development here and then moves away to commercialize their products, said Ahmed Enany, president and CEO of the Southern California Biomedical Council. Lack of space for biotech start-ups, especially near major universities, is a shortcoming in Los Angeles. In Ventura County, changing agriculturally-zoned land to another use is not without great difficulty. A public-private partnership makes all the more sense in the face of a dwindling supply of industrial-zoned land in the city, Enany said. Municipal and state governments pay lip service to getting their share of the life sciences pie but their efforts often fall short in results. For instance, a proposed research area on 16 acres near USC received the backing of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during his run for mayor but no movement has been made and it remains to be seen whether the area will take off as described, Enany said. A bright note is the plan by California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo to develop 27 acres for a research park with an emphasis on biotech and life sciences activities. The university put out a request for proposals in February. “If this project happens it can take advantage of proximity of students to do collaborative research, and gives space to expand,” Enany said. No incentives necessary The City of Camarillo is home to the cellular analysis division of international biotech firm Invitrogen, and Integrity BioSolution and AmProtein Inc. both part of the California Biotechnology Research Consortium. Nearby Thousand Oaks has its share of the industry in iGori; Alliance Protein Laboratories; energy crop developer Ceres Inc.; and of course, Amgen. Neither city provides financial incentives for life sciences companies to open and operate within their borders. After all, it may not be necessary. Private investors offer a fair amount of money to accomplish what Thousand Oaks wants done in that sector, said Gary Wartik, economic development director. In recent months, Wartik attended three meetings between biotech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists with the aim of pairing good ideas with a supply of cash. An investment in the business community is worthy in the standpoint of providing his professional time, Wartik said. “Many of these ladies and gentlemen are very good scientists but their business experience is very limited,” Wartik said. John Fraser, a management assistant in the Camarillo economic development office, stops short of saying the city pines for biotech to locate there but said those types of companies are more than welcome. Strong relations with area real estate brokers can get them beating the bushes for a location with the square footage and amenities companies are seeking, Fraser said. The city stresses getting businesspeople to meet with municipal staff on issues of zoning and permitting so all the facts are known up front. “We pride ourselves on working well on the planning and building side that folks need,” Fraser said. Private financing isn’t the only option available to biotech start-ups. The Ventura County EDC has gone to the U.S. Commerce Department with a proposal to change a revolving loan fund earmarked for businesses damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake to a general fund available to any industry. The collaborative expects to hear back soon on whether the Commerce Department approves, Stenslie said. If the feds back the proposal, $1.3 million becomes immediately available for lending, with another $500,000 being collected on live loans, Stenslie said. “It is not a ton of money, but a million-and-a-quarter is at least an immediate infusion of community-based lending opportunities,” Stenslie said.

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