Veteran Researcher Will Take Reins at Non-Profit

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The board of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute knew it would have large shoes to fill after longtime Chief Executive Ken Trevett announced last fall that he had accepted a new position in Texas.

Now, after a national search, the non-profit institute, also known as L.A. BioMed, last week announced that it had tapped a native Angeleno for the post, veteran medical researcher and administrator David Meyer.

Meyer, 61, is currently vice president for research at the Los Angeles’ world recognized House Ear Institute. Before that, he held a similar position at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Meyer, who completed his undergraduate and doctoral work at UCLA, was a professor and senior associate dean at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA for several years. He spent 13 years in Europe as a researcher, instructor and graduate school dean before returning to Los Angeles in 1987.

Before becoming an administrator, some of Meyer’s laboratory research focused on how cells in the body secrete proteins. It’s work that has practical applications for biotechs that develop protein-based drugs.

LA BioMed, which shares a campus with the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, employs around 150 investigators working on research to treat conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer.

“I think one thing I’ll bring to L.A. BioMed is that I’m of the same cloth as the researchers there and I understand their needs and desires,” Meyer said. “It’s my intent to make their lives as easy as possible so they can focus on their work.”

The Palos Verdes Estates resident said he’ll also enjoy the significantly shorter commute to L.A. BioMed’s Torrance headquarters. He’ll start work Sept. 1.

L.A. BioMed, which has strong UCLA ties, is particularly known for its technology transfer programs and has spawned some startups, including Torrance vaccine developer NovaDigm Therapeutics and Calabasas aesthetic medicine product developer Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc.

Ahmed Enany, chief executive of the Southern California Biomedical Council, has worked with Meyer on several projects for the trade group. He predicted that the new L.A. BioMed leader will be skilled at strengthening the institute’s industry ties.

“He has a lot to offer,” Enany said.

Physician Groups Honored

The California Association of Physician Groups released the results of its third annual Standards of Excellence survey of its medical group members. And L.A.-area physician groups took a large share of the top rankings.

CAPG’s survey is the first voluntary, large-scale and critical self-assessment for medical groups in the nation; it largely focuses on how physician networks have leveraged technology and other strategies to improve patient care.

Among the local groups achieving an “elite” rating or higher, was Marina del Rey’s Heritage Provider Groups, which has a Southern California network of more than 1,000 primary care doctors and 2,000 specialists. Among its local groups are Regal Medical Group in Reseda and the Greater Covina Medical Group.

Dr. Richard Merkin, Heritage’s founder and chief executive, said his company has been using computer networks for years to ensure patients’ treatment reflects the latest medical research. But in the last three years it also has accelerated implementation of a wide-ranging electronic medical records system.

The medical records system has been integrated with another proprietary software to improve its Vital Care Program, which provides care management services for frail elderly patients and others with severe chronic conditions. The care of those patients is complicated because they tend to see several specialists who prescribe multiple medications. Around 4 percent of Heritage’s patients are enrolled in the program.

“What we have done is taken best practices studies that have been published and see whether they comport with our own experience,” Merkin said. “It makes a significant difference with patient outcomes.”

Other area medical networks receiving elite rankings from the survey included Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, Healthcare Partners Medical Group, Lakewood IPA & Affiliates, Permanente Medical Group, Pioneer Medical Group and Facey Medical Foundation.

Cedars-Sinai Health Associates and UCLA Medical Group earned the survey’s second highest “exemplary” ranking.

Biotech Fund-Raising

Response Genetics Inc. last week raised $4 million through a private purchase of unregistered common stock. The stock was purchased by Lansdowne Partners Limited Partnership, a London hedge fund that provides alternative market funding sources for small companies.

Response Genetics, based in Los Angeles, develops and sells tests that can determine whether patients have lung, colorectal and other cancers. The tests detect so-called biomarkers in genes, helping determine the most effective therapies.

The company earlier this year announced that it was tripling the size of its sales force to meet higher demand for its test kits.

Staff reporter Deborah Crowe can be reached [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 232.

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