The San Fernando Valley is home to close to 400 biotech firms, both large and small. They make somewhere in the neighborhood of $15 billion to $20 billion in revenue each year. And yet, “It’s been a bit of a secret,” said Robert L. Scott, who has developed an online overview of the biotech sector. As founder of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, Scott has seen the area’s biotech businesses slowly grow from about a dozen firms 20 years ago. Now, published on his www.valleyofthestars.net Web site, Scott’s report outlines the growth and prospects of the Valley’s biotech firms, from giant MiniMed Inc. to small firms like Advanteq Development Corp. Scott said he wants to create a directory and a one-stop source of information about the Valley’s growing biotech firms. “There was a tremendous amount of growth in that industry since the 1994 earthquake and a lot of things have changed. That’s why this report is so important,” he said. The study, Scott said, will help area biotech firms learn about other such firms and their specialties, thus creating a better relationship among them. “It seemed to me that a lot of the people at these firms really didn’t get together to have coffee,” he quipped. Altogether, the report lists 471 firms in the San Fernando Valley and Pasadena areas which are responsible for about a third of the industry’s $57 billion in revenue for Los Angeles and Orange counties. According to the Biomedical Council of Southern California, there are about 2,500 biotech firms in Southern California. The research program is a joint project of the Economic Alliance and the Training Alliance, a consortium between Pierce, Valley, Mission and Glendale community colleges, to inform the public and local biotech and biomedical firms about that sector of the local economy. Outlining the names and specialties of each company, the report also focuses on the larger developments in the Valley’s biotech boom, like MiniMed’s advanced insulin pump and its November move to a site on the Cal State Northridge campus. Ahmed Enany, executive director of the Biomedical Council of Southern California, said the report highlights the Valley’s companies in the area and their major achievements. “It’s a very important document that I think will help people understand our industry,” Enany said. The report, funded by a $15,000 grant from the state Department of Education, was put together by Scott with the aid of the Biomedical Council, state officials and Valley biotech firms themselves. The report outlines the area’s biomedical and biotechnology firms, including those that manufacture diagnostic, surgical and dental equipment, as well as prosthetic and rehabilitation devices. It focuses on companies involved in food and agricultural biotechnology such as plant breeding, and techniques to improve the growth of food crops. The little-known field of bioinformatics, or the process by which microbiology data is analyzed and stored in supercomputers, is included. The report also goes on to outline the clusters of biotech firms in the Valley, through a map that gives their locations. One map shows a cluster of eight firms in Chatsworth, including NMB Technologies Corp., 3M Pharmaceutical Inc. and Natrol Inc. Another large cluster in Canoga Park and Woodland Hills shows several firms, including Syncor International Corp., Servo Magnetics Inc. and One Lambda Inc. Carolyn Corpolongo, industrial affairs coordinator for San Fernando-based Precision Dynamics Corp., said the report is especially helpful in locating firms in related fields. “It’s useful for anyone that is in this industry,” she said. But for Scott, the project is also an educational one. “Basically, I also want to implement a new training alliance and a collaboration between biotech businesses and local colleges,” Scott said. The effort aims to focus on developing continuing education programs for biotech and biomedical professionals. The report outlines the various local colleges that offer programs meant to advance the education of those in the biotech field. “What we’re specifically doing is aligning ourselves in the education community so that we can attract people to that business cluster,” said Kenn Phillips, education director for the Training Alliance which teamed with the Economic Alliance for the report. Phillips says the effort aims to inform local companies about training courses available to them through the four colleges. But so far, there are no takers, he added. “It’s still brand new and we’re still getting the word out about this program,” Phillips said.
