WHEREAS, California is the global leader in the life sciences industry; and

WHEREAS, This great state is home to the entire continuum of the life sciences industry, including world class universities, basic research centers, biotechnology startups, and anchor biopharmaceutical companies; and

WHEREAS, There are currently 2,848 life sciences companies in California, with 212 more companies than in 2014, generating $130 billion in revenue; and

WHEREAS, California life sciences companies directly employ 281,000 people all over the State of California, with concentrations in the San Francisco Bay area, San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles; and

WHEREAS, The life sciences are an economic driver in California, a place where cutting-edge businesses thrive; and

WHEREAS, California has a concentration of research in the life sciences industry; and

WHEREAS, California companies have 1,235 potential new medicines in the pipeline and life science innovations have a tremendous impact on the world’s health and well-being; and

WHEREAS, New medicines and technologies emerging from California companies and research institutions are likely to have a remarkable impact on the health of the world’s population and help those afflicted with serious diseases, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis; and

WHEREAS, In the early 1970s, Herb Boyer at the University of California and geneticist Stanley Cohen at Stanford University pioneered a new scientific field called recombinant DNA technology; and

WHEREAS, Venture capitalist, Bob Swanson, who was excited by recombinant DNA technology’s potential to help people, and Herb Boyer together founded the first biotechnology company, Genentech, in South San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, The founding of Genentech on April 7, 1976, marked the birth of the biotechnology industry and planted the industry’s roots in California; and

WHEREAS, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, remains a leader in the biotechnology industry and continues to advance its mission of transforming the lives of people with serious diseases; and

WHEREAS, The biotechnology industry inspires the next generation of scientists to help solve challenges like disease, energy, and food security; and

WHEREAS, The biotechnology industry generates nearly $259 billion in economic activity in California, provides more than one million jobs, and is the source of billions of dollars in state and local tax revenue; and

WHEREAS, The largest and most influential biotechnology convention in the world, the BIO International Convention, will take place in San Francisco, California, from June 6th to June 9th, 2016, with more than 15,000 anticipated attendees; and

WHEREAS, San Francisco hosted this convention in 1995 and San Diego will host it in 2017, while the State of California has hosted this convention five other times; and

WHEREAS, The BIO International Convention is where the global biotech community meets, connecting the people, companies, and innovations that help to fulfill the promise of biotechnology through healing, fueling, and feeding the world; now, therefore, be it