Conejo Valley THOUSAND OAKS The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a “positive opinion” to allow Amgen Inc. to market Repatha for patients who don’t respond or have intolerance to other cholesterol drugs. Repatha, also called evolocumab, is a new type of cholesterol medicine called a PCSK9 inhibitor that helps the liver remove “bad” cholesterol from the bloodstream. Most cholesterol drugs are statins, which inhibit production of cholesterol in the liver. The committee’s recommendation goes to the full European Commission, which can approve the medicine for sale in the 28-country European Union. Anthem Blue Cross said that J. Brian Ternan will become the company’s president and oversee commercial operations in California. The local subsidiary of Anthem Inc. in Indianapolis hired Ternan away from rival health insurer Aetna Inc., where he oversaw the western region for group, individual, Medicare and public sales. During his nine years at Aetna, Ternan served as president of the Southern California market and West Region national accounts. He previously worked at United Healthcare and Mercer, a human relations consulting firm. Ternan replaces Mark Morgan, who left the company in April. San Fernando Valley BURBANK The biggest Walt Disney store in the world opened in Shanghai’s financial district. The 9,257-square-foot shop in the Lujiazui district is Disney’s first in China. The store houses a 19-foot-tall replica of Disney’s Magic Kingdom Castle and a Marvel area with hand-sculpted statues of Iron Man and other comic book characters. It connects to an outdoor plaza with Mickey Mouse-themed landscaping. A $5 billion Disney resort is scheduled to open next year in Shanghai. A Burbank shopping center near the 5 Freeway and Alameda Avenue sold for $48.6 million, or about $650 a square foot. The 74,391-square-foot Gateway at Burbank, 25-113 E. Alameda Ave., was purchased by a fund advised by CBRE Global Investors. The seller was a partnership of Santa Barbara real estate firm Invest West and Montecito investment firm Santa Barbara Capital. A Ralphs market anchors the property, which includes a CVS drug store, Baskin-Robbins, Starbucks and Habit Burger Grill. The property was fully leased at the time of the sale. Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger gave himself a big pay day as he sold off 200,000 shares in the Burbank company, worth $21.7 million. The sale, disclosed in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing, also showed Iger gifted another 90,900 shares to an undisclosed recipient. The sale was conducted at an average selling price off $108.73 a share. Iger’s remaining shares are valued at more than $125 million as of May 14. Last year, Iger was paid $46.5 million in salary, stock options and incentive plan compensation, a 36 percent increase over 2013. ENCINO The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has approved a $76 million FlyAway contract that will add bus service to LAX from a second San Fernando Valley location. The seven-year contract with Pacific Coast Sightseeing Tours and Charters Inc. will bring FlyAway service departing from the Woodley Avenue stop of the Orange Line busway beginning Oct. 1. The contract also retains service from an existing FlyAway terminal on Woodley Avenue in Van Nuys and from Union Station. The $8 fare will rise to $9 on Jan. 1 and to $9.75 in 2017. NORTH HOLLYWOOD The NoHo Commons retail center, a landmark North Hollywood development, has been acquired by a Newport Beach firm for $43 million, or about $681 a square foot. JH Real Estate Partners Inc. purchased the 65,000-square-foot property at 5300 Lankershim Blvd. from RedRock Noho Retail LLC, a joint venture of Redwood Partners Inc. of Laguna Beach and Rockwood Capital LLC of San Francisco. The price represents a significant gain for RedRock Noho, which purchased the center in 2007 for $30.5 million, or about $483 a square foot. The complex is 97 percent leased by national tenants, including 24-Hour Fitness. Built by L.A. developer J.H. Snyder Co., it was one of the neighborhood’s first redevelopment projects when it opened in 2004. SHERMAN OAKS Despite efforts by San Fernando Valley business leaders to lure a professional soccer team and stadium to the region, the new Los Angeles Football Club has announced it plans to build its home at the site of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena near USC. Owners of the Major League Soccer franchise, which will join the league in 2018, unveiled plans for the 22,000-seat stadium and 100,000 square feet of restaurants, offices and other space. The Valley Industry & Commerce Association in Sherman Oaks had spearheaded the effort to land the team. Cherokee Global Brands has acquired casual lifestyle brand Everyday California. The Sherman Oaks apparel company acquired La Jolla-based Everyday from owners Michael Samer and Christopher Lynch for an undisclosed price. The deal represents another step in Cherokee’s strategy to diversify its operations. In November, the company signed a partnership with Reliance Retail Ltd., a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd. in Mumbai, to distribute apparel at stores in India. In January, it agreed to launch product lines through Argos, a chain of U.K. stores owned by Home Retail Group plc. SUN VALLEY A Sun Valley metal finishing factory has agreed to pay $15,500 in civil penalties for violation of waste and clean water laws, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced. The payment of the penalty by R.L. Anodizing and Plating Inc. will resolve hazardous waste violations dating from June 2011. The 11331 Penrose St. business was found by the EPA to have stored hazardous waste without proper permits and improperly labeled and maintained containers of waste. R.L. Anodizing was one of five Southern California companies to pay penalties following a multi-year “environmental justice” investigation into industrial companies near low-income neighborhoods. VAN NUYS A Van Nuys developer wants to put up a 369,000-square-foot mixed-use project in Woodland Hills that would feature 170 residential units and a 19-story office tower. The 2.9-acre project at 5955 N. DeSoto Ave. by Majestic Asset Management Inc. would be one of the earliest developments under the Warner Center 2035 Plan. It would require the demolishing of a two-story, 55,398-square-foot office building at the Warner Center Business Park on DeSoto between Oxnard and Califa streets. The seven-story, 193,000-square-foot apartment building would be constructed first. Phase two calls for the 166,000-square-foot office building. WOODLAND HILLS Digital First Media, owner of the Los Angeles Daily News, has taken itself off the market and Chief Executive John Paton is stepping down, according to a memo Paton sent to employees. New York-based Digital First had told employees in September that the company was reviewing its strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company either as a whole or in regional clusters. The memo said the company was continuing discussions concerning “selected assets” and looking at potential acquisition opportunities. Paton also stated he was leaving in June and being replaced by Chief Operating Officer Steve Rossi. Santa Clarita Valley VALENCIA A 44,500-square-foot warehouse in the Valencia Industrial Center has sold for $4.6 million to an expanding Sylmar logistics company. The 25158 Avenue Stanford building formerly served as the headquarters of Andrews Electronics, an electronic-parts distributor acquired by Best Buy Co. Inc. in 2012. Triscenic Production Services, which is expanding its entertainment-industry transportation and storage business, acquired the vacant warehouse from Andrews Electronics owner Harry Acker of Santa Clarita. Andrews Electronics was founded in 1950, and Acker operated the company out of the building since acquiring it for $2.4 million in 1988.
