Exact Staff, Inc. (Woodland Hills)

Exact Staff is a healthcare and medical device staffing service provider. The company will be represented in SoCalBio by its CEO Ms. Karen Goodwin kgoodwin@exactstaff.com  ... Learn more

LAVC Receives U.S. Department of Labor Grant

"Los Angeles Valley College is proud to be part of a nationwide consortium to play a role in creating career pathways for displaced workers to gain sustainable employment in the growing biosciences industry," said LAVC President Susan Carleo (photo right). "Working with the Southern California Biomedical Council (SoCalBio) , leading industry employers, the local workforce investment board and State Employment Development Department, our goal is to continue our activities through LAVC Job Training to prepare workers for in-demand bioscience jobs such as biological technicians, chemical technicians, environmental science and protection technicians, and medical and clinical laboratory technicians"  ... Read press release

The American Association for the Advancement of Science Opposes Efforts to Label Biotech Food

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has released a statement opposing efforts such as California's Proposition 37 seeking to label biotech foods, saying that they would only "mislead and falsely alarm consumers." Eating food with biotech ingredients "is no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredients from crop plants modified by conventional plant improvement techniques," the group said ... Read more at the LA Times  

Is Crowdfunding a Suitable Strategy for Funding Innovation?  

The Jobs Act signed by President Obama early this year has opened he door for crowdfunding to invest in commercializing innovations. For some, crowdfunding creates the foundations for democratizing the investment process. For others, the Jobs Act may have ushered  in a Wild Wild West funding environment .. Read more

Attend the SoCalBio Investor Conference which will feature a breakout on crowdfunding 

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Medical Device Spending as a Portion of U.S. National Health Expenditures Increased Less Than 1% Over the Last 2 Decades

Medical devices are often at the center of healthcare spending debates, but a new report released by medical device industry lobbying group AdvaMed concluded that "medical devices are a relatively small and  very  slowly growing share of national health expenditures." ... read more  

Amgen and Kleiner Perkins Form a New Biotech Company in Westlake Village

Amgen and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) announced the formation of Atara Biotherapeutics, (www.atarabio.com), a new drug development company with a focus on innovative therapies for patients with chronic diseases in therapeutic areas including nephrology and
oncology. Atara Biotherapeutics will have licenses to six Amgen assets, which are in various stages of development, ranging from preclinical to Phase 1. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed ... Read press release

The FDA Warns St. Jude Over Operations at  Sylmar Facility

The FDA has issued a warning letter to St. Jude Medical over operational procedures at its manufacturing facility in Sylmar, Calif. At the Sylmar plant, St. Jude makes cardiac rhythm management products, which include pacemakers, defibrillators, and leads-wires that connect defibrillators to the heart. The company plans to respond to the letter by Nov. 7 ... Read more