The Life Sciences industry is among the fastest growing in the region, according to the North Bay Life Sciences Alliance annual report.
It identified 94 businesses in Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties involved in global life science markets. But there may be as many as 470 businesses across 20 different life science sub-industries with headquarters or branch offices in the North Bay, the report said.
There were 10,000 employed in life science jobs in the four counties as of mid-2015, the latest data in the April 30 document. That’s up by 100 jobs in life sciences, working out to generate more than $48 million in new-business income.
The multiplier effect of those 10,000 workers is estimated a $4.8 billion, or about 7.3 percent of the $65 billion regional economy. Since 2010, the 30 percent expansion rate of life science workers makes this category among the fastest growing industries in these four counties.
BioMarin
Top industry employers in the region include BioMarin, Medtronic, The Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Ultragenyx, Genentech, Raptor Pharmaceuticals and Trivascular Technologies and Steris. Last year, Trivascular merged with Endologix and Steris with Synergy Health.
Life science industries include biomaterials and bioprocesses, medical devices and therapeutics, agricultural biotechnology, animal health and nutrition, and nutraceuticals.The alliance was started in 2012 to monitor trends in employment, financing, commercial space and government support for life sciences businesses in the four counties.
Life science industries include biomaterials and bioprocesses, medical devices and therapeutics, agricultural biotechnology, animal health and nutrition, and nutraceuticals.The alliance was started in 2012 to monitor trends in employment, financing, commercial space and government support for life sciences businesses in the four counties.
A life sciences and biotech industry veteran has been tapped to lead the effort to attract and grow new business in Marin.
Jim Cordeiro, a co-founder of the now-defunct Oceana Technologies, a San Francisco-based firm, has been named CEO of the Marin Economic Forum, the San Rafael-based nonprofit.
“Jim is a great hire for this job,” said Robert Eyler, the forum’s chief economist and founding CEO. “He had a life sciences-based company and he was CEO of that company — he knows the industry very well. Jim also comes with some nonprofit board experience, where there was a political advocacy piece of it.”
Cordeiro, a 42-year-old Novato resident, succeeds Steve Lockett, who relocated to North Carolina after a half-year stint in the post, the forum announced last month.
Cordeiro has 18 years of industry experience working as a leading scientist at Nodality, Affymetrix and other biotechnology and academic organizations.
“One of the things the Marin Economic Forum is likely to do is get a little more involved in higher-level socioeconomic and sociopolitical issues in Marin County that affect Marin County business, and Jim has some experience in that, too,” Eyler said.
Cordeiro has served as an adviser and on the board of directors for the Pacifica Education Foundation, which has a focus on 21st-century learning and technology.
Marin Economic Forum’s $400,000-a-year budget is funded by the county of Marin, contributions from businesses and individuals, and revenue generated from economic reports prepared by the forum. The county provides matching funds up to $150,000 per year. Founding sponsors, who contribute a minimum of $10,000 a year, include Autodesk, Bank of America, Kaiser Permanente, Marin General Hospital, Whole Foods Markets, the city of Novato and the county of Marin.
The Marin Economic Forum has teamed with the city of Novato, the Buck Institute and other regional organizations to form the North Bay Life Sciences Alliance to promote further biotech development in the North Bay.
“The focus of the economic forum is how we can build a sustainable pipeline in the innovation space and life sciences,” Cordeiro said. “Through partnerships and collaborative efforts we are working on with them to commercialize the intellectual property that is generated through them.”
Marin Supervisor Judy Arnold, vice president of the forum’s executive board, said Cordeiro’s resume is impressive and he will serve the nonprofit well.
“He comes from a focus in life sciences, and the Marin Economic Forum is focusing on bringing more of that to Marin,” she said. “We are very excited about the possibilities to grow and for Marin County to become more of a go-to place for businesses and work.”
Cordeiro said there is room to grow in the existing industry, pointing out Marin’s biotech and life sciences leaders, including BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. and Cytograft Tissue Engineering,
“Life sciences is my background — it’s a passion of mine,” Cordeiro said. “These are the kind of jobs we want to make available, so people can afford to live and work here.”
Cordeiro holds a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz as well as several patents.
“Created in the late 1980s from the trust of a wealthy Ross couple, Leonard and Beryl Buck, the Buck Institute is an independent research facility whose mission is “to increase the healthy years of life.” Within its walls dozens of world-class scientists work in a collaborative environment to understand how getting older contributes to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and heart diseases, as well as cancer, stroke, diabetes and glaucoma.
“The Buck Institute is absolutely an asset to the growth of life science commerce in Marin,” says Robert Eyler, Sonoma State University professor of economics and chief economist for the Marin Economic Forum. “Short of a leading research university, there’s nothing like it between the Golden Gate Bridge and the University of Oregon in Eugene.””
