Beckman Coulter Taps San Diego for New Operations
U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox called for the permanent embedding of a research and development credit in the federal tax code at an Aug. 10 lunch presentation for biomedical and drug industry officials at Allergan Inc.’s Irvine corporate campus.
“We need to stop kidding ourselves and make it permanent,” Cox said, adding it often takes more than five years for new pharmaceuticals to come to market.
Cox said the credit was first passed as part of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, and is renewed in five-year intervals.
In his presentation, Cox also touted the fact that Congress made an increase in the budget of the National Institutes of Health a priority. He said the agency’s budget, currently around $18 billion, is being increased by approximately 17% a year.
“We believe money invested in medical research eventually pays you back,” Cox said. “You live better and you live longer.”
The Newport Beach Republican’s presentation was sponsored by the California Healthcare Institute, an industry trade group. The California Healthcare Institute’s figures show there are approximately 337 biomedical companies in Orange County. The institute also notes that biomedical sector workers in OC earn a yearly average wage of $49,065.
Reagents Drive new Beckman Unit
Beckman Coulter Inc., Fullerton, said it has formed a new San Diego-based business unit called Immunomics to find applications for new reagents that could speed the search for vaccines to cancer and other immune diseases, according to company officials.
The reagents are called iTAg MHC tetramers and are made up of molecules bound to specific peptides related to human immunodeficiency virus or cancer.
Reagents are mixed with whole blood and analyzed on a flow cytometer using a fluorescent dye in order to measure cellular immune response to disease. Within about an hour, the process provides an accurate count of a person’s T-cells responding to the disease-specific peptide.
Bonnie Anderson, a newly appointed vice president and director, is heading up Immunomics. The unit’s administration, commercialization, manufacturing and research and development activities will be headquartered in San Diego, with some research and production in Marseilles, France.
Beckman’s shares have been on an extended run-up in the past few weeks. Last week, they were trading at about 71, up from 60 in mid-July and around 50 back in January.
Vencor Probe Partially Resolved
Vencor Inc., whose local holdings include a hospital in Brea and a nursing home in Orange, signed a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Vencor, a Louisville, Ky.-based company, is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The agreement is designed to resolve in part allegations of poor quality of care and billing abuses and a continuing investigation by the department’s Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Justice. Under the pact, Vencor will adopt a comprehensive internal quality improvement program at the corporate, regional and facility levels.
Carehouse Owner Reports Charge
Fountain View Inc., owner of the Carehouse Care Center nursing home in Santa Ana, recorded a $3.4 million pretax charge in its second quarter ended June 30 relating to Carehouse’s decertification from Medicare and MediCal. In a news release, Fountain View said it was losing approximately $600,000 a month on a pretax basis because of the matter.
A recertification process is under way, but Fountain View added that if the matter was not resolved, it might put the company out of compliance with its loans. Burbank-based Fountain View, although private, is required to report certain financial data because it has public debt.
Cash for Diabetes Projects
Health Funders Partnership of Orange County, Santa Ana, held a conference earlier this month for organizations interested in responding to a request for proposal it issued in July. The partnership, made up of nonprofit grantmakers, was looking for project proposals from community organizations interested in improving the outcome and quality of life for individuals and families at risk of or currently diagnosed with diabetes.
The partnership plans to provide more than $2 million in grants. Up to five three-year grants will be offered to support formal collaborations of medical providers, community-based organizations and others. Partnership members include Irvine Health Foundation, PacifiCare Foundation, Orange County’s United Way, St. Joseph Health System Foundation and the HealthCare Foundation for Orange County.
Bits and Pieces:
The Foundation for Facial Plastic Surgery, a Long Beach-based professional association, held a symposium on new technologies and surgical techniques Aug. 9 to 13 at the Hyatt Newporter. Topics covered included anti-aging medicine, face-lifting, minimally invasive techniques and new concepts in blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery.
