Cedars-Sinai Joins BioLA to Advance Innovation
Cedars-Sinai has become a founding sponsor of Bioscience Los Angeles County, a new organization established to advance the pace of scientific innovation among major academic institutions, research hospitals, investors, companies, trade associations and public and quasi-public agencies across the region.
A view of the Cedars-Sinai campus from San Vicente Boulevard.
Created late last year, the independent nonprofit, also known as BioLA, works to foster a collaborative "ecosystem" to catalyze startup activity and breakthroughs in the life sciences.
"We are honored to support the important work of furthering Los Angeles County as a global leader in developing treatments that improve the lives of people everywhere," said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of the medical faculty at Cedars-Sinai. Melmed is a member of the BioLA governing board.
Since its beginning in 1902, Cedars-Sinai has evolved to meet the healthcare needs of one of the most diverse regions in the nation, devoting itself to innovation in patient care, research, teaching and community service. It is one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the U.S., with 593 active clinical trials, 1,845 research projects and 2,400 publications per year. Cedars-Sinai operates 13 residency programs, 72 fellowship programs and a rigorous Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
"BioLA is delighted that Cedars-Sinai, a top hospital and research institution, is doubling down on the accelerating life sciences sector in Los Angeles," said Daniel Tellalian, acting CEO of BioLA. "Cedars-Sinai's leadership brings deep scientific expertise and a patient-first culture to the table."
Cedars-Sinai is part of a robust life sciences presence in the region. In 2018, the life sciences industry in Los Angeles County employed more than 90,000 individuals and generated $42.5 billion in economic activity, according to a report this month from Biocom, a California-based life sciences association. Institutions and companies in the county also received nearly $1.1 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2018, the largest amount of any county in California, the report said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas welcomed Cedars-Sinai’s participation in BioLA and its continued commitment to advancing the life sciences.
"We are proud to partner alongside Cedars-Sinai to rightly put Los Angeles on the map as a global leader in bioscience innovation and promote our region as a preeminent place where ideas are transformed into breakthroughs," Ridley-Thomas said. "While Los Angeles County has always been a bioscience powerhouse from a research perspective, we are now flexing our entrepreneurial muscle. Cedars-Sinai's commitment is a significant statement of the role BioLA will play in moving this industry to the next level."