Industry & Company Headlines

Featured Company

• Obagi Medical Products (Long Beach): 
  Imperfections Despite Looking Great
  Obagi Medical Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMPI) wants to keep you looking young even though you are old. The skin care industry thrives mainly on faith and fantasy, or at least the softening of mean facts: a wrinkle becomes a soft tissue deficit. Obagi says it can repair these epidermal shortcomings even as the rest of you falls apart ... read more

Featured Personality

• Dr. Jonathan Lasch Appointed Director of the Alfred Mann Institute at USC (AMI-USC)
  Dr. Lasch brings more than 25 years of experience in science and technology development and evaluation in the fields of biomedical instruments and systems, biotechnology, chemistry, and materials science. Dr. Lasch will use his experience to expand AMI's efforts to develop technologies that improve human health and the practice of medicine ... read more

Featured Transaction

• Japan's Astellas to buy Agensys of Santa Monica for $387 Million
  Astellas has agreed to acquire Agensys as part of its plan to ramp up antibody research, especially in the field of cancer. "Agensys will be the cornerstone of our biologics efforts and an integral component of building our oncology efforts within our franchise," explained Masafumi Nogimori, CEO of Astellas ... read more

Company News

• Abraxis BioScience (Los Angeles):
  • Abraxis Announces Agreement with Green Cross Corporation for the Commercialization of ABRAXANE in Korea
• Amgen (Thousand Oaks):
  • Aranesp Data Dents Amgen
  • Amgen Antes Up For Lobbyists on Anemia Rule
• Beckman Coulter (Fullerton):
  • Beckman to buy remaining stake of NexGen
• Biolase Technology Inc. (Irvine):
  • BIOLASE Named to Deloitte's Orange County Technology Fast 50
• Cenomed BioSciences (Irvine):
  • Cenomed BioSciences Announces Licensing Agreement with ThioPharma, Inc.
• CompuMed (Los Angeles):
  • CompuMed Introduces New Features for OsteoGram Bone Density Screening Software to Improve Speed and Workflow
• Cord Blood America (Los Angeles):
  • Cord Blood America Announces Financing
• Genome Diagnostics (Pasadena):
  • Genome Diagnostics, cancer-test maker, aims for $1.6M
• ImmuneCellular Therapeutics (Los Angeles):
  • ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Agrees to Acquire Molecular Antibody Technology
• IRIS International (Chatsworth):
  • IRIS International Files to Offer Stock
• Kythera Biopharmaceugicals (Agoura):
  • Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Appoints Amgen Veteran as Chief Financial Officer
• Masimo (Irvine):
  • Masimo Corporation Given Approval to Market the Masimo Rad-57 Pulse CO-Oximeter in Japan
• Simulation Plus (Lancaster):
  • Simulations Plus Receives Renewal of Large Pharmaceutical Software License
• STAAR Surgical (Monrovia):
  • STAAR names Barry Caldwell president and CEO
• Synthetic Blood (Costa Mesa):
  • Synthetic Blood Announces VCURES Receives $1.3 Million From U.S. Navy for Decompression Sickness Research with Oxycyte
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals (Aliso Viejo):
  • Valeant Completes Enrollment of Second Pivotal Phase 3 Trial for Epilepsy Drug Retigabine
• Universal Detection Technology (Los Angeles):
  • Universal Detection Technology Receives Purchase Order for MRSA Germicide From Quiznos Restaurant Franchise
• Watson Pharmaceuticals (Corona):
  • Watson Gets FDA Approval for Pain Drug

 Wet Lab Space Available

Looking for space to accommodate your startup?

The Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative (PBC) is a non-profit organization created to support the growing biotechnology industry in the San Gabriel Valley. It promotes and supports new company formation by providing low-cost, high quality wet lab space and equipment to early start-ups. Click here to learn more

Upcoming SoCalBio Events

December 12, 2007
5:00 - 9:00 pm
Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles

SoCalBio Networking Forum 

Click Here to RSVP

 featuring a presentation and panel discussion focusing on

Unlocking the Potential of 
Microtechnology 
in Medicine

Local companies -- such as MicroFabrica of Van Nuys -- are developing microtechnologies -- that promise to transform the face of a wide array of medical devices

For Sponsorship and Display Opportunities, Contact SoCalBio at scbc@socalbio.org

Thanks to Sponsors

Not Yet a Member?

Join us for the 
New Member Open House
Learn more about SoCalBio and 
membership benefits

When: December 19, 2007
Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Where: Kaiser Permanente Alton/Sand Canyon Medical Office (6650 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA 92618) 
Cost: FREE (a light lunch will be served)

For more info and to RSVP, contact Sushetra at 949-435-7647
 or send e-mail to sushetra@socalbio.org

Maximize the return on your investment in SoCalBio by tapping the benefits of our Group Purchasing Program ... Click here to learn more

Coming in 2008

January 28, 2008
7:30 am - 4:00 pm
UCI University Club in Irvine

SoCalBio Workshop on Accessing Government Funding

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Learn about funding opportunities from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army .. See attendee evaluation of previous workshop held on Jan. 2007

For Sponsorship and Display Opportunities, Contact SoCalBio at scbc@socalbio.org

February 29, 2008
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles

2^nd SoCalBio Human Resources  Conference

Click Here to RSVP

Organized by the Southern California Biomedical Council, this conference provides a forum for information sharing among HR executives in device and biotech companies, HR service providers, bio-recruiters, educators, and workforce training professionals to address the growing human capital and employment needs of the life-science industry in Southern California ... More information

For Sponsorship and Display Opportunities, Contact SoCalBio at scbc@socalbio.org

10^th SoCalBio Investor  Conference
The SoCalBio Investor Conference features business presentations by CEOs of Southern California biotech, medical device and health informatics firms interested in raising capital and/or forging strategic partnerships.

Presentation, Sponsorship and Display Opportunities Available. Contact SoCalBio: