Southern California is a Hotbed of Small Biotech Innovation

Image of SoCal beach for article on California biotech.

Southern California is known for warm weather, sunny beaches and as a desirable residence for the rich and famous.  Those in the scientific community also know it as a hub for biotechnology.  Centers of excellence in higher education, well equipped biotech incubators and an experienced workforce come together to build a framework for success.

According to a Biocom 2020 Impact Report, the life science industry in California generated $372 billion annually and provided 1.4M Jobs. In addition, California also received the most research funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH) of any state in the country, a total of $4.59 billion in the 2019 fiscal year.

I have highlighted a few interesting companies in Southern California below.  Narrowing the list down to 5 companies was not easy, and I may have to write a version 2. 

Viracta Therapeutics, San Diego, CA, is advancing new medicines for the treatment of virus-associated malignancies, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive lymphoid malignancies.

Aadi Biosciences, Pacific Palisades, CA, is focused on development and commercialization of precision medicines targeted to rare genomic alteration-driven cancers. 

NanoSmart Pharmaceuticals, Laguna Hills, CA, has multiple platform technologies to enable the next generation of biopharmaceuticals for treating all solid-tumor cancers, including: breast, prostate, lung, and rare childhood cancers.

Bionaut Laboratories, Los Angeles, CA, created a Bionaut™, a new treatment modality that uses microscale robots to deliver biologics or small molecule therapies locally to targeted disease areas to help patients suffering from severe brain disorders, such as gliomas and Parkinson’s Disease.

Onchilles Pharma, San Diego, CA, is developing a pipeline of first-in-class biologic and small molecule drug candidates that have the potential to be broadly effective against a wide range of cancers. 

This impressive list demonstrates the exciting developments in biotechnology which will ultimately result in living longer and healthier lives.