California Life Sciences Association And OCTANe Announce Strategic Partnership To Bolster Orange County’s Life Sciences Sector

Alliance will support OCTANe’s life sciences community by leveraging CLSA’s local, state and federal advocacy capabilities and statewide business support resources

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. & SAN DIEGO & ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the nation’s largest statewide public policy and business solutions organization representing California’s leading life sciences innovators, and OCTANe, Orange County’s life sciences and technology accelerator organization, today announced a formal alliance to strategically accelerate the growth of Orange County’s life sciences sector.

“For the sector to continue flourishing, we need to strengthen and facilitate life sciences research, investment and entrepreneurship to move new ideas forward. This collaboration aims to empower both CLSA and OCTANe members by providing key statewide resources and tools necessary to succeed.”

“We are thrilled to further extend our statewide resources and capabilities into Orange County to intensify the investment and innovation in their life sciences cluster. California’s life sciences ecosystem, as exemplified in and around Orange County, is driving the economy and delivering life-changing medicines and technologies that benefit overall health and well-being,” said Sara Radcliffe, President & CEO, California Life Sciences Association (CLSA). “For the sector to continue flourishing, we need to strengthen and facilitate life sciences research, investment and entrepreneurship to move new ideas forward. This collaboration aims to empower both CLSA and OCTANe members by providing key statewide resources and tools necessary to succeed.”

The strategic alliance is designed to support OCTANe life sciences stakeholders by harnessing CLSA’s local, state and federal advocacy capabilities including key legislative information, public policy roundtables and signature industry programs and conferences. OCTANe members and partners are also eligible to access CLSA’s Business Solutions program that leverages its $100 million buying power to offer steep discounts and quality services ranging from lab supplies to its healthcare benefits TRUST program.

“Considering the demands of Southern California’s emerging life sciences industry, this partnership with the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is based on the simple notion of providing companies what they want in order to grow and expand their business,” said Bill Carpou, CEO, OCTANe. “This alliance is further proof of OCTANe’s mission to connect people and ideas with resources and capital. By providing this additional suite of services to our early-stage companies, we will support the sustained growth of our thriving life sciences community.”

California boasts a vibrant life sciences community with 2,848 life sciences companies, including industry-leading global corporations, entrepreneurial start-ups and everything in between. In addition to impacting health and well-being worldwide, their efforts have a powerful influence on our economy. California life sciences companies directly employ 281,000 people and generate $130 billion in revenue. Well known as the “medical device capital of the world,” Orange County’s life sciences sector has become one of the primary drivers of economic growth for the state accounting for more than 42,000 life sciences jobs distributed over sectors such as biotech, pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturing.

“This partnership shines a brighter light on the important work happening in Orange County’s life sciences community, which is impacting patients all around the world, and allows emerging life sciences companies the opportunity to participate in state and federal legislation as part of the greater voice of California’s biomedical industry,” said Donald E. Bobo, Jr., Edwards Lifesciences Corporate Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development, and Vice Chairman of the CLSA Board.

About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the leading voice for California’s life sciences sector. We work closely with industry, government, academia and other stakeholders to shape public policy, drive business solutions and grow California’s life sciences innovation ecosystem. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged to create the state’s most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About OCTANe

OCTANe drives technology industry growth and innovation in Orange County by connecting ideas and people with resources and capital. Its members represent Orange County technology executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academicians, and strategic advisors, all working together to fuel innovation in the OC. The organization has helped more than 800 companies via the LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator. LaunchPad™-certified companies have received more than $1.7 billion in investment and equity exits. OCTANe annually welcomes more than 7,000 people to its programs and events. More than 2,000 business leaders throughout the Orange County region are OCTANe members. For more information, visit www.octaneoc.org.