• UCLA Researchers Identify the Molecular Signature of Loneliness
  "What this study shows is that the biological impact of social isolation reaches down into some of our most basic internal processes — the activity of our genes," said Steven Cole (Photo right), an associate professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a member of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology. Cole and colleagues at UCLA and the University of Chicago used DNA microarrays to survey the activity of all known human genes in white blood cells from 14 individuals in the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study. Six participants scored in the top 15 percent of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a widely used measure of loneliness that was developed in the 1970s. The others scored in the bottom 15 percent. The researchers found that 209 gene transcripts — the first step in the making of a protein — were differentially expressed between the two groups, with 78 being over-expressed and 131 under-expressed ... Read more

• UCI Study Suggests Cell-Surface Sugar Defects May Trigger Nerve Damage in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
  In a study appearing in the online version of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, UCI researchers led by Michael Demetriou (photo right), an assistant professor of neurology, microbiology and molecular genetics, found that genetic deficiencies in a process called protein glycosylation led to a spontaneous disease very similar to MS, including paralysis associated with inflammatory damage to the protective myelin coating on nerve cells and degeneration of axons and neurons. Protein glycosylation refers to the addition of specific sugars to proteins; virtually all cell-surface and secreted proteins have complex sugars attached to them ... Read more

• Advanced Medical Optics (Tustin):
  • Video: NASA Approves Advanced Lasik for Use on Astronauts
  • Bausch & Lomb Shareholders Back Buyout
• Allergan (Irvine):
  • Allergan, Inc. Announces Agreement to Acquire Esprit Pharma, Inc.
• AMDL (Tustin):
  • AMDL's Jade Pharmaceutical Subsidiary Announces New Product Strategy; Six New Products, Including One With Sales Projected at Upwards of $10 Million, Under Development
• Amgen (Thousand Oaks)
  • Vectibix(TM) (panitumumab) Receives Positive Opinion for Marketing Authorization in the European Union
• Arbios Systems (Pasadena):
  • Arbios Systems Announces Exclusive Supply Agreement With Membrana GmbH for Blood Filtration Membranes
  • Arbios Announces Management Changes
• Calando Pharmaceuticals (Pasadena):
  • New Research Published on Impact of Targeting on Biodistribution and Efficacy of siRNA Using Calando Pharmaceuticals' siRNA Delivery Technology
• Medgen (Ontario):
  • Medegen Responds to U.S. Federal Court's Decision in ICU Medical Inc. Patent Infringement Case
• Prolacta Bioscience (Monrovia):
  • Prolacta Bioscience Appoints Ellen N. Cushing as Vice President Sales and Marketing
• Simulation Plus (Lancaster):
  • Simulations Plus and Enslein Research Sign Agreement
• STAAR Surgical (Monrovia):
  • STAAR Surgical Reports Operational Progress
• Valeant Pharmaceuticals (Aliso Viejo):
  • Valeant Pharmaceuticals Announces the Launch of the zelaCARD for Parkinson's Disease Patients Taking Zelapar(R)
• Xencor (Monrovia):
  • Xencor Selects Antibody Development Candidates
• Zynx Health (Los Angeles):
  • Zynx Health Announces Release of Ambulatory Care Clinical Decision Support Package

• Agensys (Santa Monica):
  • Research Scientist/Senior Research Scientist: Cancer Biology
  • Scientist: Antibody Development
  • Bioprocess Development Associate/Scientist
  • Associate Scientist: Tissue Analysis
  • Purification Development Associate/Scientist

• Alliance Medical Products (Irvine):
  • Materials Manager
  • Aseptic Fill Technician
  • Production Operator
  • Quality Engineers w/ Pharmaceutical experience
  • Engineering Technician
  • Process Engineer

• ArmaGen Technologies (Santa Monica):
  • Staff Scientist (Protein Purification-Ph.D. required)
  • Research Associate (Cell Culture & Biochemistry)
  • Research Associate (DNA Sequencing)

• Maxwell Sensors (Santa Fe Springs):
  • National Accounts Executive

• Keck Graduate Institute:
  • Master of Bioscience Degree
  • Executive Education for Women in the Life Science Industry
• University of Southern California:
  • Master's in Regulatory Science 
  • Certificates: Food Safety, Patient & Product Safety, Clinical Trial Design & Management
• University of California Irvine:
  • Medical Product Development Certificate Program
  • Clinical Trials Certificate Program

Join SoCalBio and Enjoy the Benefits of our Group Purchasing Program

See SoCalBio membership information and benefits at: http://www.socalbio.org/membership/membership_form.htm  

The Program includes the following providers:

• Lab supplies by VWR
• Office and technology solutions by Office Depot
• D&O insurance by Monitor Liability Insurance
• Liability insurance by Chubb and Bolton
• Employee benefits by ABD Insurance
• PR and news distribution by Business Wire
• Industrial gases by Air Gas
• Pre-owned lab equipment by BioSurplus
• Employee screening by Choice Point 
• Moving & storage by Humbold

Program discounts are offered exclusively to SoCalBio device, biotech, and R&D member companies and service providers in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.