Biocom Announces Fourth Annual Catalyst Award Winners

Biocom, the association representing the California life science industry, today announced the winners of its Fourth Annual Catalyst Awards. The awards identify accomplished and up-and-coming academics, entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders and business advisers who are making their mark on the San Diego, Los Angeles and Bay Area life science industries before reaching their 40th birthday.

"California is a global leader for the life sciences, and the Catalyst Awards recognize those who are both continuing our state's legacy and forging entirely new paths in the field," said Joe Panetta, president and CEO of Biocom. "San Diego, Los Angeles and the Bay Area are regional powerhouses in the life sciences, and this year's Catalyst Award recipients reflect the advancements being made in pharma, biotech and scientific research across the Golden State."

Biocom selected the 10 winners from an impressive pool of nominees from all facets of the life science industry, including pharma, diagnostics, industrial biotech and digital health. The nominees were vetted by regional committees that considered factors including innovation, leadership and vision.

In alphabetical order, the Life Science Catalyst Award winners are:

San Diego

• Ranjan Batara, Ph.D., vice president of research and development, Locana, Inc.
• David Chacko, M.D., chief business officer, Erasca
• Sheng Xu, Ph.D., assistant professor, University of California, San Diego

Los Angeles

• Matt Davidson, Ph.D., CEO and Co-founder of Azora Therapeutics and Founder of Verrica Pharmaceuticals
• Shannon Mumenthaler, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and biomedical engineering, lab director, Lawrence J. Ellison Institute of Transformative Medicine, University of Southern California
• Patrick Phelps, co-founder, president and CEO, SOFIE

Bay Area

• Adam Adler, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, GigaGen, Inc.
• Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Caribou Biosciences, Inc.
• Anitha Jayaprakash, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO, Girihlet Inc., founder and CEO, Oakland Genomics Center
• Noga Leviner, co-founder and CEO, PicnicHealth

The award winners will be featured in the fall edition of Biocom's LifeLines magazine and honored during the November Biocom Annual Celebration of Life Dinner.

About Biocom

Biocom is the largest, most experienced leader and advocate for California's life science sector. We work on behalf of more than 1,200 members to drive public policy, build an enviable network of industry leaders, create access to capital, introduce cutting-edge STEM education programs, and create robust value-driven purchasing programs.

Founded in 1995 in San Diego, Biocom provides the strongest public voice to research institutions and companies that fuel the local and state-wide economy. Our goal is simple: to help our members produce novel solutions that improve the human condition. In addition to our San Diego headquarters, Biocom operates core offices in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, satellite offices in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, and has a continuous staff presence in Sacramento. Our broad membership benefits apply to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, genomics and diagnostics companies of all sizes, as well as to research universities and institutes, clinical research organizations, investors and service providers.

For more information on Biocom, please visit our website at www.biocom.org. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (@BIOCOMCA).