SAN DIEGO, CA – In order to kick off this year’s BIO International Conference, the San Diego Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the city’s World Trade Center, together with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Biocom, organized a meeting to promote investment in the California city.
Under the name “Invest in San Diego”. The regional pitch event hosted more than 100 attendees representing international delegations from South Korea, Canada, Taiwan and France, among others.
With idyllic views of the harbor and downtown, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria opened the program by highlighting the life sciences sector as a key pillar of San Diego’s economy. He underscored the region’s commitment to fostering the industry’s growth through initiatives such as the Life Sciences Industry Accelerator, designed to streamline permitting for life sciences projects in San Diego.
Nikia Clarke, EDC Senior Vice President and WTCSD Executive Director, also presented some of San Diego’s competitive advantages to encourage investors.
San Diego is one of the top three life sciences markets, with a strong research and development center and a growing manufacturing sector.
In addition, the city has more than 60,000 life sciences jobs countywide, 33% are in manufacturing, according to the report presented by EDC.
The region has more than 80 research centers and 25 institutions of higher education. With approximately 17,000 STEM degrees annually. While also highlighting San Diego’s proximity to Mexico offering companies dynamic cross-border economic opportunities to access new skilled talent and Baja California’s expertise in medical device manufacturing, among others.
The event concluded with a panel moderated by Miguel Motto, Vice President of Strategic Operations and Head of Biocom’s San Diego Office, along with panelists Matt Abernethy of Neurocrine Biosciences, Sarah Boyce of Avidity Biosciences, Alison Budelsky of Eli Lilly, and Jeff Labbadia of Element Biosciences. With representation from life science companies of all sizes, the panelists shared why they continue to expand in San Diego.
