It’s been a long and unpredictable year, yet it’s gone by in a flash. This year was challenging and different for everyone, but one thing rang true – the North County community showed its resiliency and commitment to collaboration time and time again. Together we celebrated the bright spots and successes and grieved unimaginable loss. And so, as we turn the chapter into a new year, Innovate78 is highlighting some of North County’s biggest business wins in 2020.
- Acutus launches successful IPO (Carlsbad) Acutus Medical (AFIB), a Carlsbad-based biotech company that develops 3-D imaging technology for heart procedures, found major success with its IPO. The company’s flagship product, AcQMap, creates a virtual map of the heart that updates in real time with each heartbeat to help treat arrhythmia, which affects more than 2.7 million Americans. Acutus garnered such excitement around its story in the midst of the marketing process for its public offering that it had to upsize. It ultimately raised $183 million for its initial public offering.
- Scripps Medical Center opens state-of-the-art facility (Oceanside) Scripps Health opened their Scripps Medical Center Jefferson in Oceanside, giving North County its largest outpatient health center. The facility boasts 85,915 square feet and three stories, and is designed as a one-stop shop for patients, with a wide range of outpatient services including primary care, cardiology, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics and pediatrics, along with comprehensive imaging, outpatient surgery, urgent care and same-day walk-in care through Scripps HealthExpress.
- Exagen rapidly expands footprint and employee count (Vista) Inside Exagen, scientists work around the clock on groundbreaking tools to help physicians better diagnose and monitor autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, giving hope to patients with major, unmet medical needs. The Vista-based company is growing rapidly, expanding its footprint from approximately 33,500 square feet to approximately 46,500 square feet for its corporate headquarters and ancillary space. Earlier this year, Mayor Judy Ritter and Vista City Council Members joined Exagen to learn about their life-changing work through a lab tour (pictured here) during their ribbon cutting celebration of the new facility expansion.
- Piercan secures $1.5 million in tax credits (San Marcos)Piercan is a worldwide leader in manufacturing niche polymer products, including specialty gloves used by NASA, pharmaceutical companies, and beyond. The San Marcos company secured a $1.5 million California Competes Tax Credit. With the funds, Piercan will expand their local operations and create 62 new jobs along the 78 Corridor. The company will also be investing more than $7.5 million toward wages, equipment and improvements in North County within the next five years.
- LocalHub opens and thrives through pandemic (Escondido) Opened this year in Escondido, LocalHub allows small business owners, freelancers, entrepreneurs and remote workers a space to work, conduct meetings, use shared resources and collaborate safely. While coworking spaces have been hit as the pandemic has forced people to temporarily stay and work from home, the LocalHub continues to grow and thrive. In addition, LocalHub began hosting a weekly Tuesday outdoor retail market to support local makers and retailers who have been hit with significant reductions in indoor sales capacity to sell their wares in a safe, outdoor environment on the LocalHub campus.