Ten areas are bidding to become the headquarters for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the state agency funding $3 billion in stem cell research grants in the next 10 years.
The winner, expected to be chosen next month, can claim bragging rights as the stem cell research capital of California,if not the country or world.
San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Long Beach, the Peninsula south of San Francisco, Emeryville, Alhambra and Richmond have formed private-academic partnerships to try and land the headquarters.
The derby is the result of Proposition 71, an initiative passed by voters in November that directs the state to fund stem cell research.
The bidders are touting their scientific prowess and corporate support. They’re sweetening their pitches with free rent, prime locations, scenic views and perks such as a fitness club, concierge service or hotel rooms.
But one notable team is missing from the competition: Orange County and the University of California, Irvine.
“It’s kind of surprising that Orange County hasn’t put its hat in the ring, because the county has such strength in biomedical,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., which helped with L.A.’s bid.
But UC Irvine Chancellor Ralph Cicerone and some other academic and business leaders say OC has opted for a more pragmatic approach: skipping a glamour competition that many observers concede to the Bay area.
For more on this story, see the April 11 print edition of the Orange County Business Journal.
