California’s Life Science Industry Generates $414.2 Billion Annually & Supports More Than 1.24 Million Total Jobs

Biocom California, the advocate for life sciences in California, released a new report – Biocom California’s 2023 Economic Impact Report Databook – which outlines key findings about the state’s life science industry, including information on economic, demographic, investment and industry performance data. The report underscores the significant contributions of the life science industry across California and in specific legislative districts.

Among its most important findings, California’s life science industry:

• Includes 16,576 life science establishments
• Generates nearly $414.2 billion to the state’s economy
• Supports more than 1.24 million jobs (435,693 direct jobs/736,846 indirect jobs)
• Provides an annual average wage to employees of over $146,000
• Increases labor income by $128.6 billion per year
• Received more than $22 billion in venture capital, NIH funding and NSF funding

The full report may be accessed here.

CBF Honors Scientific Contributions by LGBTQ+ Community During Pride Month

As Pride Month comes to a close, the California Biotechnology Foundation would like to highlight the accomplishments of innovators from the LGBTQ+ community who have made tremendous contributions in in life science and medicine. Here are biotech leaders you should know:

E. Morrey Atkinson, Ph.D. is the Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Operations Officer, Head of Biopharmaceutical Sciences and Manufacturing Operations at Vertex. Throughout his decades-long career in the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Atkinson has contributed his expertise in the development and commercialization of multiple modality therapeutics across all aspects of preclinical, clinical and commercial manufacturing including small molecules, biologics and cell therapies.

Andrea Cubitt is a co-founder of Dionysus Digital Health, a company that combines ground-breaking epigenetic home testing, an app with supportive AI, and unsurpassed levels of data trust to improve mental health and hormone biology. Andrea’s transition experiences as an executive were instrumental in developing the vision for Dionysus.

Paul Hastings is the President and CEO of Nkarta Therapeutics and Chair of the Board of Directors of BIO.  Hastings brings longtime leadership experience to the biotech industry table. He has led multiple biotechnology companies at both the early development and commercial stages. At Nkarta, he is leading in the development of cell therapies for cancer with the power of natural killer “Nk” cells.

Ramsey Johnson is the Founder and President of OUTbio. OUTbio is the industry’s largest LGBTQ+ professionals’ group with a mission to empower the community & its allies in the biotech industry.

Alaina Kupec is the Senior Director of Global Value and Access  at Gilead Sciences Inc. where she leads work on virology and inflammation. She is also founder of GRACE (Gender Research Advisory Council and Education) which focuses on equality, dignity, and respect for transgender people and corresponding interest in supporting fellow trans advocacy groups.

Paolo Martini, Ph.D. is Chief Scientific Officer, Rare Diseases for Moderna Therapeutics. With more than 18 years of experience in drug discovery working on molecular mechanisms underlying monogenic and multigenic metabolic and fibrotic disorders as well as hematologic malignancies, Dr. Martini’s laboratory is focused on identifying novel therapies and applying translational approaches for drug development in rare genetic disorders.

Vivienne Ming is a co-founder of Dionysus Digital Health. She explores how to maximize human capacity as a theoretical neuroscientist and serial entrepreneur, Vivienne’s previous companies have used neurotechnologies to treat Alzheimer’s and depression and designed AI systems to predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers.

Edith Perez, M.D. is a renowned Mayo Clinic oncology researcher and leader of an early 2000s Herceptin trial that helped change the landscape for early-stage treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, and, more recently, Chief Medical Officer at Bolt Biotherapeutics in Redwood City, CA. She is also heavily involved in making studies of new cancer therapeutics more representative of a diverse patient population.

Executive Officer at Flare Therapeutics. Dr. Rakhit is a physician and healthcare executive with more than 20 years of leadership, clinical and operational experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. His core motivation is and has always been to enhance teams and companies defining new treatment approaches for patients in need. He has spent his career in the life science industry promoting biotech’s diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion and ensuring HR policies are not hampering employees’ ability to bring their full selves to work.

Laura Shawver Ph.D. is President and CEO of Capstan Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on mRNA and targeted lipid nanoparticles for cell therapy.. As an ovarian cancer survivor, Laura also founded the non-profit organization, The Clearity Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing molecular profiling to the forefront of ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment to help women live longer, healthier lives.

Susan Whitehead is the founder of Bay Area-based  BioSavvy Advisors which specializes in building people-centric organizations that achieve business objectives. Whitehead is involved with advocacy efforts to rally biotech leaders to voice out on certain legal or political issues such as state laws restricting LGBTQ+ rights.

Learn more about Black LGBTQ+ Innovators Transforming Healthcare here.

Join Endpoints during a virtual event on June 27^th as they highlight LGBTQ+ leadership in the biopharma industry. Register here.