Strengthening ties between San Diego and the U.K., Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) and World Trade Center San Diego led a delegation to London and Cambridge, United Kingdom from October 16 – 19. Check out #SDinUK for the inside scoop.
Rep. Peters and World Trade Center San Diego were joined by more than two dozen San Diego delegates from Cubic Transportation Systems, Qualcomm, San Diego Gas & Electric, Edico Genome, Takeda California, NuVasive, Forge Therapeutics, BioMed Realty, Alexandria Real Estate, Biocom, UC San Diego, San Diego State University and others.
Over the course of the three-day trade mission, two significant announcements, representing both the smart cities and life sciences space, were made.
San Diego became the first west coast city to enter London’s Business Welcome Programme. As part of the agreement inked between World Trade Center San Diego and London & Partners, London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s official economic development and tourism agency, London-based companies will have access to up to three months of free space at WeWork San Diego, as well as a suite of other services designed to accelerate their ability to grow in San Diego.
Continually, San Diego-based Forge Therapeutics announced the launch of BLACKSMITH, a new platform being developed in partnership with Evotec AG’s U.K. team. With more than 23,000 people dying in the U.S. annually due to resistance to anti-biotic superbugs, Forge’s new platform will aid in bringing lifesaving drugs to the market. The partnership will also enable Forge to create additional jobs in San Diego.
Additionally, Rep. Scott Peters and the delegation met with and spotlighted the following companies and held additional meetings and panels to expand on the following topics:
- San Diego-based Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and its partnership with Transport for London (TfL). During this event, leaders heard from CTS’ president Matt Cole and TfL’s CTO Shashi Verma on how the collaboration moves millions of people across London daily.
- An MOU signing between Biocom and OneNucleus, both trade organizations that represent the life sciences sector in their respective locations, to strengthen partnerships.
- A conversation about leveraging electric vehicle technology as a key platform for smart cities in the U.K. with Qualcomm and SDG&E. During the panel, it was announced that Chargemaster, a licensee of Qualcomm’s wireless electric vehicle charging technology, has just opened the world’s first EV Experience Centre in Milton Keynes in the U.K. and is looking to expand elsewhere around the world.
- A partnership agreement in Cambridge for a ground-up development project by San Diego-based BioMed Realty, comprising 100,000 square feet of laboratory and office space for growing life sciences companies. The partnership launch was attended by newly-elected Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor James Palmer.
- A tour and best practices exchange with Knowledge Quarter, a one mile area of London comprised of eight higher education institutions, 22 museums and galleries, 34 libraries and archives, 580 research centers, 3,000 scientists, 13,700 academics, 57,000 staff and 98,500 students. Knowledge Quarter is home to companies including The British Library, Google, The Guardian, University of London and others.
- San Diego-based Edico Genome and a partnership with U.K.-based Congenica. Simultaneously, Edico Genome, in partnership with Amazon Web Services and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD title for “Fastest time to analyze 1,000 human genomes.” The award was presented at the American Society of Human Genetics 2017 Annual Meeting in Orlando.
The U.K. is one of San Diego’s most vital trading partners. U.K.-based companies directly support more than 10,000 local jobs and have poured more than $3.9 billion in greenfield investment (2003-2015) into San Diego’s economy. The U.K. is also one of the top 10 largest export markets for San Diego-produced goods and services.
The trade mission was organized by WTC San Diego, with assistance and support provided by the U.K. Department of International Trade.