By John Bonanno on January 14, 2021
Bonanno serves as chief investment officer for IQHQ, a San Diego-based life sciences real estate development company. He lives in North County.
The idea of locating a life sciences hub on the Downtown San Diego waterfront may feel sudden and unexpected to some. It requires thinking outside the box, but that is when discoveries are made. The notion the industry is constrained to central San Diego is plainly a false narrative and contrary to evident trends.
Perhaps a brief history of life sciences in San Diego would be helpful. Back in 1960, forward-thinking city officials invited Jonas Salk to locate his research institute on 70 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The institute opened in 1963 and although it was not directly related, Hybritech, San Diego’s first biotech company, was formed 15 years later. When Hybritech sold to Eli Lilly in 1986, its former employees spawned new companies, and the industry was formed into an enduring cycle of growth: formation, partnership, merger or acquisition and then new company formations.
The industry persisted as venture capitalists were lured in by the enormous profit potential of new therapeutics and cures. At the birth of the industry, it made perfect sense to zone areas near UC San Diego and near the research institutes in Torrey Pines, and that is what the city did.
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