San Fernando Valley Woodland Hills United Online Inc. named Francis Lobo its next president and chief executive. The personnel move came two days after the Internet publisher received regulatory approval for the spin-off of FTD Companies Inc. Lobo comes from AOL Inc., where he served as president of AOL Services. He will take over for Mark Goldston, who has been with United Online and its predecessor company for 14 years. Goldston had announced his intent to depart once the FTD spin-off was completed. FTD President Robert Apatoff will become chief executive of the spinoff. Burbank Walt Disney Co. lost a federal court challenge to the sale of 3-D conversion technology used in its films “G-Force” and “Alice In Wonderland.” The media and entertainment conglomerate argued in U.S. District Court in Delaware that it had a license to use the conversion technology developed by In-Three Inc. and sold last year to RealD Inc. of Beverly Hills. But U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson ruled in an Oct. 1 memorandum that Disney had not followed a two-step process to obtain a license for the conversion technology as set out in an agreement with In-Three. Due to her decision, Disney would presumably have to reach a licensing agreement with RealD to use the technology. Calabasas Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc. announced a $100 million secondary stock offering as it prepares to seek Food and Drug Administration approval of its drug that reduces double chins. This comes a month after the biotech company released two large-scale clinical trials that showed the drug, ATX-101, was effective and had few side effects. Kythera said it intends to use the proceeds to fund the ongoing development of ATX-101 and prepare for potential commercialization, including submitting a drug application to the FDA. The company has not yet priced the shares nor released them for sale. Kythera went public last October, raising $72.6 million. Its market capitalization now stands at $855 million. Chatsworth A mock-up of the engine that helped take humans to the moon was installed outside the Aerojet Rocketdyne campus in Chatsworth after decades at a nearby facility. The 18,400-pound, 19-foot tall F-1 demonstration engine had been in place since 1979 outside the Rocketdyne facility in Canoga Park. Rocketdyne is consolidating its operations at the Chatsworth location with plans to develop the Canoga Park site into a commercial and retail complex. The F-1 was developed by Rocketdyne in the late 1950s for the U.S. Air Force, and five were used in the Saturn rocket that blasted Apollo astronauts to the moon. The F-1 was the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fueled rocket engine ever developed. Pacoima Construction has started on a center to provide small business assistance and work force development services in the Pacoima area. The Pacoima Entrepreneurship and Training Center will be operated by the Valley Economic Development Center, a Sherman Oaks non-profit that provides financing and technical assistance for small business owners to create jobs. Partial funding for the center came from a $3.75 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The 13420 Van Nuys Blvd. center will provide work force development services to unemployed and low-income individuals and incubator services to emerging entrepreneurs. It is scheduled to open in May. Conejo Valley Thousand Oaks A lawsuit filed by a doctor who has brought repeated whistle-blower lawsuits against companies had his case against Amgen Inc. thrown out of court. U.S. District Court Judge Sterline Johnson in Brooklyn, N.Y. ruled that the case filed by Dr. Joseph Piacentiel was unlikely to result in any additional recovery against the Thousand Oaks pharmaceutical company. Last year, Amgen paid $780 million to settle government charges that it marketed anemia drug Aranesp to cancer patients who were not undergoing chemotherapy, an unapproved use that increased patients’ likelihood of death. Piacentile, a New Jersey physician who runs the website whistleblowers- againstfraud.com, together with a former Amgen executive, refused to accept their $1.8 million portion of settlement and sued for more. Santa Clarita Valley Santa Clarita Harbor Freight Tools, a Calabasas chain of discount tool stores, is opening a location in Santa Clarita. The 21,306 square-foot outlet will open inside a vacant space next to a 99-Cents Only store at 23314 Valencia Blvd. Harbor Freight has more than 450 locations nationwide including Valley outlets in Woodland Hills, North Hollywood, Lancaster, Simi Valley and Camarillo. Around the Valleys To be considered for publication, submissions should be emailed to: [email protected]. Please put ATV in the subject line. For more information, call (818) 316-3123.
Around the Valleys
