their experimental diet pills may work well enough to receive FDA approval, but it could be a year or more before the drugs reach the market. The San Diego biotechs have more to worry about than each other: Vivus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VVUS]]) of Mountain View, CA is working on a weight-loss pill that could reach consumers around the same time.
—Seeking a quicker path to FDA approval, some life sciences startups have been reformulating or repositioning existing medications. But the strategy seems to have failed Soxamon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SOMX]]), which unsuccessfully sought to market a pill containing the antidepressant doxepin as an insomnia drug. Another company pursuing this strategy, Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]), recently announced that its intravenous pain reliever containing acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, ran into regulatory delays. The jury is still out on Avanir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVNR]]), a former San Diego company (now located in Orange County, CA) that is combining two existing drugs into a pill to control emotional outbursts in patients with specific neurological conditions.
—The genetic tools industry appears to have entered a period of transformation. Companies are consolidating, broadening their intellectual property and market share, and papering rivals with patent infringement suits. Tools titans Life Technologies and Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) are suing each other over alleged patent violations. Illumina also is suing Affymetrix of Santa Clara, CA. Meanwhile, companies continued to extend the potential markets and amass IP. Illumina acquired certain rights to forensic and diagnostic technology from Orchid Cellmark, and Life Technologies snapped up BioTrove, a Massachusetts-based provider of lab instruments.
—2009 witnessed the slow disappearance of some familiar companies as the troubled economy and scientific setbacks conspired to drive them out of business or into the arms of competitors. The list includes La Jolla Pharmaceutical, TorreyPines Therapeutics, Metabasis Therapeutics, and Nanogen. In addition, at least 700 jobs were lost at these and other life sciences companies during the first half of 2009.
—Some of San Diego’s research renowned institutions took visible steps toward translating their cutting-edge research into drugs. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research formed an institution-wide partnership with Johnson & Johnson, and made some key high-level hires to foster translational research. The Scripps Research Institute, meanwhile, brought in a new tech transfer boss charged with doing more to spin research out into start-up companies that may one day commercialize Scripps discoveries.
So there you have our compilation of the top nine developments in San Diego’s life sciences sector last year. Think we’ve missed something? Please take a moment to add your contribution below, and help round out the top 10.