A pharmaceutical industry group committed Tuesday to spend $750,000 over three years to support Los Angeles County’s growing biopharmaceutical sector.
In a statement, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America called it “a down payment to support life science innovation, expand the local skilled workforce and provide economic stimulation within the county.”
Making the announcement at a morning gathering of healthcare and business leaders downtown, PhRMA President and CEO Stephen J. Ubl said he would also join the board of Bioscience Los Angeles County, known as BioLA.
“PhRMA is here today for one reason — to help make Los Angeles a bioscience powerhouse on par with San Diego and the Bay Area and solidify California’s well-established prominence as a global life sciences leader,” Ubl said.
“Los Angeles is home to world-class academic and research institutions, has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a robust and diverse workforce that offer a solid foundation for bioscience innovation to take root and grow.”
BioLA was founded in 2018 as an entrepreneurial hub for government, research institutions and private investors to accelerate startup activity in the county and advance the pace of innovation.
“Small start-ups, like the ones BioLA will support, are a critical part of the biopharmaceutical ecosystem. New medicines developed by startups not only advance science and human health, but also bring jobs and economic growth to their communities,” said Ubl, who was joined by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Ridley-Thomas offered an ambitious goal.
“Through BioLA, we will harness our medical and scientific expertise in partnership with the business community to become a world leader in treating and curing serious disease,” Ridley-Thomas said.
Between 2000 and 2017, more than $95 billion of venture capital investments were made in over 3,300 startup biopharmaceutical companies, according to PhRMA research. California supports nearly 900,000 jobs in biopharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing statewide and the industry is responsible for $290 billion in economic activity, according to PhRMA.