This special report focuses on the research and people of the San Diego tech and biotech industries, as well as the local lab market and intellectual property issues.
A highly collaborative research environment between life sciences companies, universities and trade organizations has made San Diego an attractive location for biotechnology startups and big manufacturers.
Research advancements in cancer therapy are beautiful music to the ears of lung cancer patients everywhere. One-time La Jolla Symphony violinist Ruth Gjerset is striking an important chord, recently receiving an award of $100,000 from the Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer. Gjerset's work using gene therapy as a way of suppressing the growth of tumors is currently under way at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.
According to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and San Diego Association of Governments, biotechnology in San Diego is roughly a $9 billion industry employing 40,000 people, and Doug Lozier is in the middle of the action.
Biotechnology companies have looked to ever more creative financing alternatives as changing market conditions have resulted in increasingly limited access to funding from traditional sources, such as venture capital financing and initial public offerings. Due to the widespread failure of many startups, including the fallout from the genomics bubble burst in 2000, and the introduction of the costly Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, early-stage biotechs are facing greater challenges in securing financing on reasonable terms.
Some complain San Diego's lab market has been slow or stagnant for several years; others have even gone as far as to call the lab market sick. However, there is a relevant amount of activity that indicates the market's outlook is not as grim as some believe.
Monsanto (NYSE: MON) and BASF (NYSE: BF) announced a partnership Wednesday to develop new genetically engineered crops.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A federal judge on Friday issued a permanent injunction against Internet phone company Vonage (NYSE: VG) for use of Verizon Communications Inc.'s patents.
The Burnham Life Sciences Group is San Diego County's oldest and most experienced real estate team specializing exclusively in meeting the unique needs of the biotechnology industry. Beginning with Hybritech's first facility in 1979, the Burnham Life Sciences Group has continued to be San Diego's leading provider of biomedical real estate services, routinely negotiating more than 65 percent of life sciences-related leases in the region.
The law firm of Fish & Richardson can cite many firsts as part of its distinguished 130 years of serving great innovators, helping to protect countless ideas, nurturing discoveries and bringing new concepts to market.
NEW YORK -- A group representing music publishers is suing XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR), saying that XM violates copyright laws by giving users the ability to store and replay songs on certain devices.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) accused its German rival SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) of hacking into its computers to heist secret product information in a lawsuit that highlights the escalating tensions between two of the world's largest business software makers.
In its recently released 2006 Annual Lab Report, the Burnham Life Sciences Group said San Diego County continues to experience heightened demand for laboratory space, reflected by steadily declining vacancy and a market that will be increasingly challenged to meet the fast changing needs of the biotech industry.
Fueled by many factors, legal costs for patent work have seen astronomical increases. At the same time, many companies are under pressure to reduce their patent costs. Not surprisingly, this has led many companies to seek lower-cost providers of patent work.
After a dearth of new drugs for people infected with HIV, this year promises a bumper crop of medicines that may help combat rising resistance to older therapies.
Petunias that survive frost. Impatiens that shrug off drought. Disease-free geraniums. They sound like dream plants for gardeners.
Technology companies that bleed red ink are once again lining up to go public -- and once again finding plenty of takers.
Two years ago, Steven Harr urged Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) to lower the price of a key drug that was helping buoy its stock price. He was an unlikely messenger because of his job: a Wall Street research analyst whose investing clients crave profits.
Marine microbes are among the most abundant life form on the planet and among the most mysterious. Now, results from the first phase of a global expedition are expected to provide a glimpse into this long-hidden world while potentially leading to new drugs and even fighting climate change.
Stemagen has acquired the exclusive rights to a patent for a groundbreaking technique that allows the development of embryonic stem cells appearing to have a markedly enhanced potential for therapeutic use - uniparental embryonic stem cells. Because these extraordinary stem cells are created without fertilization, they may represent an acceptable alternative for those who oppose the traditional method that requires the use of embryos that are potentially capable of reproduction.
Patent drafting strategies in complex technical areas can be "field-specific." Despite the efforts of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to apply generic standards, claim language that is acceptable in one field might inadvertently lead to difficulties in establishing patentability in another. Since high-tech subject matter is complex and often crosses over into multiple technical areas, claiming strategies that are likely to enhance favorable prosecution need to be carefully developed. This article presents some of the important points to consider when writing a high-technology patent application, with particular emphasis on claim drafting.
It's clean, green and holds the seeds to better efficiency in the ways businesses utilize energy.
Despite the constantly increasing capabilities and reach of the Internet, the same legal protections for intellectual property apply, according to San Diego attorney Ross Epstein.
Artes Medical Inc., a San Diego-based medical technology company, reported a net loss of $26.3 million for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2006, taking an $8.2 million hit in the fourth quarter alone.
The chief executive of Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BDCM) urged a government panel Wednesday to bar imports of cell phones that include chips made by (Nasdaq: QCOM) Qualcomm Inc. that infringe on its patents.
Qualcomm Inc. Tuesday denied allegations made in complaints Nokia reportedly filed against the San Diego-based company in Germany and the Netherlands.
In an effort to bolster San Diego’s position as an important center for technology and life sciences, local business organization Connect has unveiled a new quarterly index that will track and monitor the creation of new technology companies within the county.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD) announced positive top-line results Monday from its Phase II schizophrenia co-therapy trial with ACP-103, ACADIA’s proprietary and selective 5-HT2A inverse agonist.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine announced a second round of grant funding for stem cell research Friday, awarding more than $16 million to research institutions in the San Diego area.
Biotech drug developer Micromet entered a lease agreement Friday intended to relocate its Carlsbad headquarters to Maryland, a company executive said.
Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer gave thousands of customers a sneak peak Wednesday afternoon at a highly anticipated product he said will help fuel business productivity.
Ideas can about from all different places. One of Jerry Dressel’s biggest ideas came out of a frustrating experience with golf.
John Minervini, a Cushman & Wakefield senior director and member of the firm's Global Life Science Practice Group, says although the market for biotechnology space has been soft for the past couple of years, the demand is still there.
Brian Cooper, an associate vice president with Burnham Real Estate Services' Life Sciences Group, says lab space locations are still available but are definitely becoming scarce.
The most popular method for measuring blood glucose levels in people who suffer from diabetes isn't exactly the most liked, contends the maker of a new device aimed at eliminating painful finger pricks.
It's hard to write about Mojo Pages founder Jon Carder without bringing up his age. After all, there are plenty of serial entrepreneurs in San Diego and a lot of them have made millions, but few of them did it before reaching their 30th birthday.
TargeGen is a very San Diego company. That's not to say all of its founders are from here (they're not), or all of their workers do research here (they don't), or even that they went about fundraising their initial venture capital in the normal way (they didn't). But still, the company is staunchly San Diego.
A group of 20 scientists with agricultural biotechnology company Cibus LLC is trying to change the way farmers across the world harvest their crops.
Monsanto (NYSE: MON) and BASF (NYSE: BF) announced a partnership Wednesday to develop new genetically engineered crops.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A federal judge on Friday issued a permanent injunction against Internet phone company Vonage (NYSE: VG) for use of Verizon Communications Inc.'s patents.
NEW YORK -- A group representing music publishers is suing XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR), saying that XM violates copyright laws by giving users the ability to store and replay songs on certain devices.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) accused its German rival SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) of hacking into its computers to heist secret product information in a lawsuit that highlights the escalating tensions between two of the world's largest business software makers.
After a dearth of new drugs for people infected with HIV, this year promises a bumper crop of medicines that may help combat rising resistance to older therapies.
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