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XHere's Who is Developing COVID Vaccines in Los Angeles
Francesca Billington is a freelance reporter. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for dot.LA and has also reported for KCRW, the Santa Monica Daily Press and local publications in New Jersey. She graduated from Princeton in 2019 with a degree in anthropology.

Los Angeles biotech companies are in a race to create vaccines as the U.S. embarks on the largest public health initiative in generations.
On Friday, the FDA issued emergency authorization to Pfizer's COVID vaccine, paving the way for a massive mobilization effort across the country. Moderna has also submitted a vaccine, slated for review December 17.
But that won't bring an end to the need for vaccines.
"Let's face it, there are close to 7 billion people on this Earth, and most of them will need a vaccine," said City of Hope vaccine researcher Don J.Diamond. "No one company will want to devote the resources to vaccinating the world."
There are an estimated 237 vaccines under development globally, according to the Milken Institute's vaccine and treatment tracker. Most are still in early development; only 38 of them are in clinical trials. A majority of these vaccines will not make it to market.
Two vaccines are in phase one trials in Southern California. If those trials show the vaccine is safe, the companies will go on to test for effectiveness in phase two and three trials, which Milken estimates could take eight months.
California's first round of COVID-19 vaccine distributions could begin as early as next week, with 84,000 doses for healthcare workers on the frontlines with another shipment to follow later this month.
But experts are concerned that even with the FDA's approval and shipments on the way, the U.S. will not be able to meet its goal to get Americans vaccinated by summer.
Here's a look at the L.A. companies in the race toward that goal by developing new vaccines.
ImmunityBio
The El Segundo-based biotech company ImmunityBio is the furthest along. It started phase one trials of its vaccine at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach in October with 35 patients.
No adverse reactions have been reported in the 20 individuals that have received low doses of the vaccines, so far.
The vaccine, called hAd5, uses engineered adenovirus that targets "spike" and "nucleocapsid" COVID proteins to generate antibodies that the company hopes will provide long-term immunity.
The CEO of ImmunityBio, Patrick Soon-Shiong, a biotech leader and billionaire who owns the umbrella company NantQwest and the Los Angeles Times, told the news organization two months ago that the biggest challenge to using adenovirus is that it is a common cold virus. Many already have developed antibodies that could hurt its effectiveness.
His late-stage immunotherapy company had been working with adenovirus in its development of drugs for cancer and infectious diseases
The two-dose vaccine in development wouldn't require frigid temperatures that Pfizer's vaccine needs.
The company sees promise. Last month, it found that T cells gathered from previously infected patients showed indications that an immune response could be triggered by the vaccine.
"As the virus continues to spread at an alarming rate, it is important that we develop COVID-19 vaccines that not only provide the population with protection from new infection through antibodies that block viral entry into cells, but also establish a robust T cell immune response to clear the virus from infected cells," said Soon-Shiong said in a statement announcing the findings.
City of Hope
A team at City of Hope's clinical research center for cancer, diabetes and diseases announced last month it entered a phase one clinical trials. The vaccine aims to stimulate antibodies and T cells that can block the virus from entering susceptible cell types such as those in the lungs.
The first volunteer, a City of Hope employee, is scheduled to receive the first dose of the vaccine on Friday.
Researchers at the Duarte-based biomedical treatment and research facility developed a synthetic platform technology that hosts the SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins known as an MVA.
The MVA then replicates DNA within other cells that ultimately leads to the production of Sars-CoV-2 proteins that triggers an immune response.
According to City of Hope, synthetic MVA is a safely modified version of the poxvirus that's been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox. It's also included in the federal government's Strategic National Stockpile for lifesaving use during a public health emergency.
Like many other vaccines, City of Hope's would require two doses. It would need to be stored at 60 degrees celsius, not as cold as Pfizer's, but researchers are investigating whether it can be freeze dried and stored at room temperature. The trial is estimated to finish by the end of March 2021.
Capricor Therapeutics
The Beverly Hills-based clinical stage biotech company is in the early stages of developing an exosome-RNA vaccine with Johns Hopkins University that uses tiny particles secreted by cells as a natural drug delivery vehicle in the body.
"As a cell-free substance, exosomes can be stored, handled, reconstituted and administered in a similar fashion to common biopharmaceutical products, such as antibodies and other recombinant protein drugs," the company said in a statement.
The 15-year-old company is known for developing exosome-based therapeutics to treat conditions including Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Capricor said it has also begun phase two of a clinical trial of a therapeutic for patients at high-risk that are infected with the virus. The study is enrolling high-risk patients to examine the long-term cardiac consequences of the virus.
**This story has been updated.
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Francesca Billington is a freelance reporter. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for dot.LA and has also reported for KCRW, the Santa Monica Daily Press and local publications in New Jersey. She graduated from Princeton in 2019 with a degree in anthropology.
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With West Hollywood becoming a hub for cannabis consumption lounges and many Silicon Beach companies embracing virtual reality, it was only a matter of time before two of Los Angeles’ two burgeoning industries started mingling.
While many cannabis firms are still figuring out how to incorporate the metaverse and Web3 applications like NFTs, Canoga Park’s Saucey Farms & Extracts has become one of the first business to offer THC products in the metaverse as part of a dispensary in Cryptovoxels, a virtual platform build on the Ethereum blockchain. Local weed brand Califari, meanwhile, recently sold NFT artwork to support the cannabis-oriented criminal justice nonprofit The Last Prisoner Project. Then there’s groups like the Crypto Cannabis Club (CCC), an organization centered around 10,000 “NFTokers” that gives holders discounts on cannabis products and has hosted weed-themed meetups in the Decentraland metaverse.
According to Crypto Cannabis Club CEO Ryan Hunter, about 20% of the community is based in California, with the organization’s most active chapter located in Southern California. Hunter said that CCC uses different metaverses based on its needs; if the Club wants to host virtual 4/20 or 7/10 gatherings for all of its members, those would take place in Decentraland because it’s “more of a wide-open space,” while interactive gaming experience would be on The Sandbox platform, where noted weed entrepreneur Snoop Dogg has already staked a claim.
Hunter views the metaverse as a bridge between real-world cannabis enthusiasts and those who are passionate about virtual experiences.
“We’re trying to intentionally create a community of folks that are part of the cannabis community in the real world, and want to be a part of the cannabis community as it expands into the metaverse [and] these virtual communities that are developing,” he said.
In addition to cannabis ventures, artists are also exploring how the metaverse and Web3 can help them connect with new audiences. Reece Kinsbursky, art director of the The Artist Tree dispensary chain, told dot.LA that he has received interest from artists about showing their NFT artwork on the dispensary’s walls; one even explored marketing a piece for sale via a QR code that would be displayed in the dispensary. (While The Artist Tree does not currently display NFT art at its stores, Kinsbursky didn’t rule it out in the future.)
“It certainly has the capabilities to change a lot in how the ecommerce space functions,” he said of the overlap between NFTs and cannabis. “But it’s too soon to tell.”
Cannabis aside, the metaverse is blossoming into a major focus for tech companies in Los Angeles. From social media companies like Snap to entertainment giants like Disney, there are no shortage of players leveraging virtual reality to grow their businesses and expand how they interact with audiences.
Likewise, Hunter and other cannabis entrepreneurs hope that engaging with metaverse platforms can expand their brand awareness and ecommerce presence. In addition to launching a direct-to-consumer offering—featuring collectible NFTs—in partnership with delivery company CampNova, CCC is building a dispensary in Cryptovoxels to display products from partner brands. In time, Hunter wants the virtual dispensary experience to mirror the real one, complete with a cultivation space where visitors can learn about the growing process.
As for cannabis consumers who may doubt the metaverse’s potential, Hunter believes a little skepticism is healthy.“I think there’s every reason for them to be suspicious, and that’s a great way to approach it,” he said. “I’m not trying to convince anybody. We’re trying to create a community that earns its place—and hopefully we’ll find folks who are open-minded, and they’ll tell friends who are less open-minded and convince them.”
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Tech Is Upsetting the Table at This Year's Upfronts
Keerthi Vedantam is a bioscience reporter at dot.LA. She cut her teeth covering everything from cloud computing to 5G in San Francisco and Seattle. Before she covered tech, Keerthi reported on tribal lands and congressional policy in Washington, D.C. Connect with her on Twitter, Clubhouse (@keerthivedantam) or Signal at 408-470-0776.
Are the upfronts turning into TV execs’ personal “Black Mirror'' episode?
The annual feeding frenzy—in which C-suite television executives auction off highly-viewed (and costly) advertising time slots— is changing as new streaming behemoths shake up the market. The event often gives viewers and industry watchers insight on what shows are poised to become cultural phenomena, but that too seems to be disrupted at this year’s proceedings.
It’s been two years since major networks and television players convened in New York for a week, and it’s clear that technology is going to change a lot about how the process works.
Streaming, a popular way to view content, doesn’t follow traditional ad slots the way broadcast does. Nonetheless, last year ad-enabled streaming services–including Peacock and Hulu–slurped up a large slice of ad dollars. But this year may prove a turning point, as services like HBOMax and Disney Plus begin tinkering with ad-laced streaming, and Netflix promises to quickly roll out an ad-supported subscription tier. Large networks like ABC and NBC will have to start competing with streaming for the favor of companies and their ad money.
Another thing changing the market: the ads themselves. With more data at their fingertips, streaming services can offer far more personalized and targeted services than their network counterparts. Netflix and Disney collect mountains of data that can gauge what ads are most relevant to their viewers. That’s a huge plus for advertisers, even if streaming services like Disney restrict what kind of ads it will show.
Legacy TV companies have already taken note. NBCUniversal took great pains at Monday’s pitch meeting to offer their Peacock streaming service as an example of a dual streaming-and-broadcast model and lambasted streaming services that once showed disdain for advertisers and ad breaks.
“At those companies, advertising could seem like an afterthought… or even worse, a new idea for a revenue stream, but not here,” NBCUniversal’s ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “At NBCUniversal, advertising has always been an asset for our business… designed to enhance your business.”
Adding to the instability, Nielsen ratings, which has been the universal standard for measuring viewership, is being challenged. The company’s ratings were once the gold standard used, in part, to determine the time slots and networks that had the most viewers (and which became the most coveted by advertisers).
Last year, Variety reported major networks complained that the company was likely undercounting viewership due to pandemic-related restrictions, like being unable to go into peoples’ homes and making sure the data-collecting technology was properly working. In its wake, software-enabled startups have popped up to better gather data remotely.
Washington-based iSpot.tv received a $325 million investment from Goldman Sachs after acquiring similar companies including El Segundo-based Ace Metrix and Temecula-based DRMetrix. Pasadena-based tvScientific raised $20 million in April to glean adtech data from smart tvs. Edward Norton’s adtech firm EDO raised $80 million in April and booked a deal with Discovery ahead of the upfronts.
Nielsen also lost its accreditation with the Media Ratings Council, and without a standard ratings guide for the industry, navigating the upfronts will be a far more uncertain and nebulous process for both networks and advertisers.
With tens of billions of dollars on the line, advertisers are demanding more than just well-produced shows networks and streaming services alike—sophisticated ad placements is the name of the game.
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Keerthi Vedantam is a bioscience reporter at dot.LA. She cut her teeth covering everything from cloud computing to 5G in San Francisco and Seattle. Before she covered tech, Keerthi reported on tribal lands and congressional policy in Washington, D.C. Connect with her on Twitter, Clubhouse (@keerthivedantam) or Signal at 408-470-0776.
Atlas Obscura, L.A. Tourism Dept. Partner on Explorer’s Guide to LA
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Samson is also a proud member of the Transgender Journalists Association. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him
The Los Angeles Tourism Department partnered with curiosities and travel website Atlas Obscura for a first of its kind digital interactive map of L.A. County’s top attractions, just in time for the summer influx of tourists.
Visitors to L.A. – or locals looking for a fun reason to leave their apartments – can scroll the interactive map on a browser or download the app.
Image courtesy of the L.A. Tourism Dept.
The “Discover Los Angeles” map can be broken down by neighborhood or by a series of “guides,” which all feature as part of the larger promotional campaign roll-out known as the Explorer’s Guide to L.A
Atlas Obscura and the Tourism Department also published a hardcover edition of the Explorer’s Guide, along with several other speciality breakout guides, including the Meeting Planners Guide, artistic Visitor’s Map and, for those with more expensive tastes, the L.A. Luxury Guide to the city’s pricier pursuits. The paper versions of the guides have QR codes for travelers to scan and take information with them on the go.
This year’s collaboration with Atlas Obscura gives the Tourism Department’s previous guide a much-needed update – it was previously a whopping 136-page PDF document created in 2020.
The Explorer’s Guide includes a mix of places you’d expect to see on the map, like Griffith Park and the museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. It also has some unlikely spots sourced from Atlas Obscura’s network of local explorers who recommended their favorite places to visit: the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Venice Canals or the Watts Towers, a stunning, monumental public art exhibit of mosaic steel towers that was built by one Italian immigrant over a 34-year period.
30 neighborhoods are discussed in the guide, from classic tourist destinations like Hollywood and beach cities like Santa Monica and Venice to lesser-known but still exciting enclaves like Leimert Park, Frogtown and Little Ethiopia. There’s also several maps for specific interests – taqueria lovers will find new spots to nosh with the taco map, and there’s also a map of the Downtown Arts District, spots to stargaze and sports venues.
“For myself and the writers and editors on this project, many of them L.A. natives, getting to write and curate the official visitors guide to the city of L.A. was an absolute dream,” Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras said in a statement. “We hope that these guides will inspire all the curious travelers arriving in L.A., to try new things, as well as providing new adventures for longtime L.A. residents. There is really no limit to what L.A. has to offer.”
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Samson is also a proud member of the Transgender Journalists Association. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him