County's life sciences industry bright spot amid economic gloom

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer
Local biotech draws visit from Puerto Rico's governor | Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:30 PM PST ∞

LA JOLLA -- Seeking some of San Diego County's biotech magic, the governor of Puerto Rico is visiting local life science companies and groups this week.

On Tuesday, Gov. Anibal Acevedo-Vila visited Biocom, the San Diego-based life science group, and signed an agreement to explore ways Biocom and the American island commonwealth can cooperate.

Acevedo-Vila also visited Connect, the technology entrepreneurship program, and plans to visit Gen-Probe and Biogen Idec's San Diego offices today.

"We're learning from those who have been very successful, and the San Diego area has a success story," Acevedo-Vila said.

While San Diego County has long been known for its biotech prowess, the sector's continued growth in jobs and investment stands out in an economy troubled by the real estate and construction slump. Last week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited Carlsbad's Invitrogen Corp., praising the company's record of job creation.

Acevedo-Vila said he is looking to learn from San Diego County's biotech model, which began with research, expanded to drug development, and ultimately attracted biotech-related professional services such as venture capital firms, intellectual property attorneys and biotech real estate specialists.

"The synergy between academia and the private sector is something we are trying to replicate," Acevedo-Vila said Tuesday in an interview with the North County Times.

This week's visit by Acevedo-Vila is mainly a get-acquainted meeting, said Ian Wisenberg, Biocom's senior vice president of business development and chief financial office. It was Acevedo-Vila's first meeting with Biocom.

But it won't be his last visit, Acevedo-Vila said. He plans to return in June when San Diego hosts the annual convention of the Biotechnology Industry Association, or BIO, the world's largest biotech trade group.

Puerto Rico is known for its expertise as a large center of pharmaceutical manufacturing, which now includes biotech companies. Last year, Amgen began building a $1 billion, four-year expansion of its manufacturing plants there. Production there is sweetened by tax benefits. Although the commonwealth is part of the United States, it is considered to be outside the U.S. for tax purposes.

Puerto Rico is also adding academic research, and offers a biotech-friendly government, said Acevedo-Vila. He was named governor of the year in 2006 by BIO.

Last year, construction began on the Puerto Rico Cancer Center -- a collaboration between the commonwealth and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The project, funded by the National Cancer Institute, seeks to uncover causes and treatments for cancers that disproportionately affect Hispanics.

-- Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.

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