OCTANe, Orange County’s life sciences and technology accelerator, and California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences industry, have announced the Life Sciences Growth Accelerator Program— a unique dual membership program designed to address the specific growth challenges of emerging life sciences companies.
 
In today’s competitive environment, emerging life sciences companies face unique challenges—the need to attract key talent, make connections with funding and industry experts, and conserve capital while working to bring innovative products and treatments to market. “California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) and OCTANe are thrilled to create a program that strengthens emerging Southern California life sciences companies and supports more of the innovations that save lives here and around the world,” said Sara Radcliffe, president and CEO of CLSA.
 
“We are excited to partner with CLSA to help companies leverage the network, resources and comprehensive support services of both organizations to grow and scale their business in Southern California,” said Cara Davidoff, manager of Strategic Initiatives at OCTANe.

Companies that take advantage of the Life Sciences Growth Accelerator Program will receive dual membership benefits such as:

• Access to more than 100 programs, roundtables and networking events throughout California, available free or at a deep discount to members;
• Up to 80 percent savings on lab equipment, employee benefits, cyber security, and other key business resources through CLSA’s Power Purchasing Program;
• Legislative roundtables, advocacy working groups, and other small-company opportunities to impact policy initiatives;
• Up to 35 percent savings on local, regional, and national conferences and seminars;
• Incubation and acceleration programs specifically designed to support early-stage companies;
• Portal access to advisor/investor services, business tools and industry intelligence;
• Access to the eagerly-anticipated annual CLSA & PwC California Life Sciences Industry Report and CLSI Workforce Trends Reports.

“We will expand our existing network to build a broader coalition of like-minded organizations that want to elevate innovation throughout all of Southern California,” added Bill Carpou, CEO of OCTANe.
 
OCTANe is building the Southern California of tomorrow by connecting people, resources and capital to drive technology industry growth enabling new company creation and new jobs in Orange County. Its members represent Orange County technology executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academicians, and strategic advisors, all working together to fuel innovation in the county. The organization has helped more than 800 companies via the LaunchPad SBDC accelerator. LaunchPad companies have received more than $700 million in investment and equity exits. These investments have supported the creation of more than 3,500 new jobs in Orange County. OCTANe annually welcomes more than 6,000 people to its programs and events. More than 2,000 business leaders throughout the Orange County region are OCTANe members.
 
California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the leading voice for California’s life sciences sector. It works closely with industry, government, academia and other stakeholders to shape public policy, drive business solutions and grow California’s life sciences innovation ecosystem. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged to create the state’s most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization.