The integration of information technology and life sciences is well underway in San Diego, judging from the past week’s headlines. We’ve summarized it all here.
—Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) CEO Jay Flatley chatted with Luke about the outlook for the gene-sequencing business, among other things. Flatley has an interesting take on the business potential of bioinformatics and offers his prediction on when we’ll see the $1,000 genome.
—Medsphere Systems Chief Operating Officer Rick Jung told me the Carlsbad, CA-based provider of electronic medical records software expects to triple its bookings this year, thanks to the impetus the field is getting from federal stimulus funds. The company’s subscription software is based on technology developed by the Veterans Health Administration.
—Xconomy had a great event with four longtime life sciences innovators—John Mendlein, chairman of Fate Therapeutics; Paul Schimmel, Scripps Research Institute scientist and serial entrepreneur; Fred “Rusty” Gage, Salk Institute for Biological Studies researcher; and Dan Bradbury, CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NADSAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]])—sharing their thoughts on where San Diego has been and where it’s going. Could bioinformatics be the next big opportunity? Luke summarized their comments.
—CareFusion (NYSE: [[ticker:CFN]]), a San Diego-based medical device company, said that it would acquire Medegen, a maker of disposable systems for delivering medication intravenously, for $225 million in cash.
—Ryan profiled DR Systems unit eMix, a company that provides Web-based delivery of radiological images. The company is entering a field that is rapidly heating up.
— Michael L. Eagle, a former manufacturing vice president at Eli Lilly, joined the board of Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]). The FDA recently told Cadence it could not approve its intravenous acetaminophen because of manufacturing problems. The drug is being produced by a third-party manufacturer, Baxter International.