Publication Date: Friday, March 18, 2005
Palo Alto bids for stem-cell center
Palo Alto bids for stem-cell center
(March 18, 2005) Stanford Research Park offered as headquarters for $3 billion funding agency
by Jocelyn Dong
Palo Alto threw its hat in the ring this week to host the state's headquarters for stem-cell research, a bid that could bring immediate prestige and future industry dollars.
The stem-cell center, known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is the result of Prop. 71, which California voters approved last year authorizing $3 billion in funding for such research. The center will make grants and provide loans to universities and institutions for research and facilities.
Although the actual headquarters will house only 50 employees in a 17,000-square-foot office, cities throughout California are chasing after the opportunity. Bids were due to the state Wednesday.
Palo Alto joined with other Peninsula cities to submit a proposal under the leadership of Peninsula Policy Partnership and SAMCEDA.
The umbrella group will try to sell the Peninsula as a prime location for biotech, citing its proximity to industry giants like Genentech and Chiron Corp.; universities such as Stanford, UCSF and UC Berkeley; and three major airports.
"Biotech is an engine of the Peninsula. The marriage of biotech and venture capital is strong," said Deborah Bringelson, president and CEO of Peninsula Policy Partnership and SAMCEDA.
Despite applying jointly, individual cities offered their own office buildings in the proposal; ultimately only one location will be chosen
Palo Alto pitched space in its Stanford Research Park, according to Susan Arpan, the city's manager for economic development and redevelopment.
Although the land is owned by Stanford University, the academic institution has no part in the bid, Arpan said. If it did, the university would be unable to apply for funding from the stem cell agency due to a conflict of interest.
Instead, the property's leaseholder joined with the city.
"We have a brain trust -- that's what this area offers," Arpan said, citing the local academic research centers and the intelligent workforce. "Given our strengths, we have a decent chance. ... We're hopeful."
Irv Weissman, director of Stanford University's Institute of Cancer/Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, said there are good reasons for locating the center in the Bay Area.
For starters, top agency leadership calls the area home, including Chairman Robert N. Klein, the president of Klein Financial Corporation, a Palo Alto real-estate development firm; Vice-Chair Ed Penhoet, co-founder of Chiron Corp. and the current president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; and Interim President Zach Hall, a renowned neuroscientist and former executive vice chancellor for UCSF.
Klein, a Portola Valley resident, also chaired the statewide Prop. 71 campaign last year.
Locating the headquarters anywhere else "could compromise a search for excellence in administration," Weissman said.
"We in the biomedical-research world know only too well that less-than-excellent-and-accomplished administrators will soon lead to less-than-excellent judgment about funding the best and the most clinically important applications," he said.
He acknowledged, however, that local universities and biotech firms likely would not directly benefit from proximity to the headquarters. "Being closer to the source of money still doesn't make your science better, or your clinical translation more astute. Grants will be judged by merit alone," he said.
In addition to the 17,000 square feet, the state is looking for a 10-year lease with free or low cost rent for at least the first four years; close proximity to public transportation; and a nearby airport.
The state's Department of General Services also expressed a preference to locate the center in an area where a high concentration of biomedical research is taking place, and where there's an availability of conference facilities and high-speed communications infrastructure.
San Diego could be considered a front-runner in the bid, due to the concentration of biotech research and resources already located there. A 2004 report from the Milken Institute named San Diego as the top-ranking biotechnology "cluster" in the country.
Two of the eight site-search committee members are from the San Diego region: Richard Murphy, head of the Salk Institute; and John Reed, chief at the Burnham Institute. Both centers conduct biological research.
Though hosting the stem-cell center on the Peninsula wouldn't bring immediate benefits, Bringelson said, the focus on biotech locally could result in more businesses being spun off 10 to 15 years down the road.
"We're looking at this as a long-term investment in the economic health of the area," she said.
Arpan likened it to having an anchor tenant in a shopping mall. The headquarters would draw other businesses and services to the city, she said.
The site-search committee is expected to make its recommendation by April 22. The stem-cell agency is expected to move into its new headquarters no later than mid-August.
Senior Staff Writer Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.
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