Here are the latest headlines regarding how the novel coronavirus is impacting the Los Angeles startup and tech communities. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for the latest updates.
Cedars-Sinai joins international clinical trial to test COVID-19 drug
Los Angeles-based hospital system Cedars-Sinai announced Tuesday it is joining an international effort to test the drug remdesivir for treating COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The drug is not FDA-approved but has shown promise in animal testing and in small numbers of humans. Starting this week, Cedars plans to administer the drug intravenously to up to 30 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19. They will be monitored throughout their hospital stay and their outcomes will be measured against a control group, which will be given a placebo. The U.S. National Institute of Health is sponsoring the trial, which includes dozens of sites around the world, according to the statement.
Gilead Sciences, based in the Bay Area, owns the remdesivir patent. Early this month the company applied for "orphan drug" status in an effort to expedite the clinical trial timeline required by the FDA. That status was granted last week, but the company subsequently requested a withdrawal of the designation. Some health groups expressed concern that orphan status would limit the ability of other organizations to produce treatments in the future. In a statement Gilead said it remains "confident that it can maintain an expedited timeline in seeking regulatory review of remdesivir."
U.S. consumers spend 400 billion minutes streaming content to TVs, says Nielsen
live.staticflickr.comCoronavirus is forcing Americans to stay at home, and American consumers have watched about 156 billion minutes of streaming content on their televisions during the week of March 16 — a 22% surge from a week earlier, according to a Nielsen analysis. The first three weeks of March saw an estimated 400 billion minutes of streaming an 85% surge from the year-ago period.
Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and Hulu make up the biggest bulk of streaming on TV sets (the study did not include viewers on mobile phones). By the numbers, Netflix and Hulu claimed a smaller share of that viewing than they did last year, according to the data. Netflix claimed 29% of total streaming minutes for the week ending March 22, down from 36% in the same period a year ago. Hulu accounted for 10%, down from 15%. YouTube represented 20%, up from 19%. And Amazon inched up to 9%, from 7%. New services like Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus fueled the "other" category to to 31% from 23%.
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Similar programs are common in the startup world and in the creator economy. For example, social media companies can use accelerator programs not only to support rising stars but to lure those creators—and their audiences—to the company’s platforms. Genies believes avatars will be a crucial part of the internet’s future and is similarly using its program to encourage creators to launch brands using Genies’ platform.
“I think us being able to work hands on with this next era—this next generation of designers and entrepreneurs—not only gets us a chance to understand how people want to use our platform and tools, but also allows us to nurture those types of creators that are going to exist and continue to build within our ecosystem,” said Allison Sturges, Genies’ head of strategic partnerships.
DIY Collective’s initial cohort will include roughly 15 people, Sturges said. They will spend three weeks at the Genies headquarters, participating in workshops and hearing from CEOs, fashion designers, tattoo artists and speakers from other industries, she added. Genies will provide creatives with funding to build brands and audiences, though Sturges declined to share how much. By the end of the program, participants will be able to sell digital goods through the company’s NFT marketplace, The Warehouse. There, people can buy, sell and trade avatar creations, such as wearable items.
Genies will accept applications for the debut program until Aug. 1. It will kick off on Aug. 8, and previous experience in digital fashion and 3D art development is not required.
Sturges said that the program will teach people “about the tools and capabilities that they will have” through Genies’ platform, as well as “how to think about building their own avatar ecosystem brands and even their own audience.”
Image courtesy of Genies
Founded in 2017, Genies established itself by making avatars for celebrities from Rihanna to Russell Westbrook, who have used the online lookalikes for social media and sponsorship opportunities. The 150-person company, which has raised at least $250 million to date, has secured partnerships with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to make avatars for each music label’s entire roster of artists. Former Disney boss Bob Iger joined the company’s board in March.
The company wants to extend avatars to everyone else. Avatars—digital figures that represent an individual—may be the way people interact with each other in the 3D virtual worlds of the metaverse, the much-hyped iteration of the internet where users may one day work, shop and socialize. A company spokesperson previously told dot.LA that Genies has been beta testing avatar creator tools with invite-only users and gives creators “full ownership and commercialization rights” over their creations collecting a 5% transaction fee each time an avatar NFT is sold.
“It's an opportunity for people to build their most expressive and authentic self within this digital era,” Sturges said of avatars.
The company’s call for creators could be a sign that Genies is close to rolling out the Warehouse and its tools publicly. Asked what these avatar tools might look like, the startup went somewhat quiet again.
Allison Sturges said, “I think that's probably something that I'll hold off on sharing. We will be rolling some of this out soon.”
