SACRAMENTO, Calif. & SAN FRANCISCO & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences industry, today announced the launch of “Faces of California Biomedical Innovation,” a digital campaign to elevate and amplify California patient voices and showcase the impact of innovative cures and treatments developed by the California life sciences industry.
As part of the campaign, CLSA is launching a new website and advocacy hub, www.ProtectAccessAndInnovation.org, that provides visitors with facts, figures, petitions, shareable infographics, and news about California’s innovation economy; a series of patient testimonial videos; and a new digital ad campaign to elevate the voices of Californians across the state. The California life sciences cluster employs nearly 1 million people statewide and has approximately 1,300 new therapies in the development pipeline from more than 3,200 life sciences companies.
“California’s life sciences industry is helping improve and save lives every day in California and around the world. This ‘Faces of California Biomedical Innovation’ campaign will help elevate the voices of California patients and their families and highlight how biomedical industry research, development, and delivery of innovative medical treatments has positively impacted their lives,” said CLSA President and CEO Sara Radcliffe. “By empowering patients to tell their own stories and sharing these testimonies in California and beyond, CLSA and our members are also delivering a powerful message to lawmakers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., about the importance of protecting the California innovation economy and the life-saving treatments it produces, and avoiding policies that will harm this ecosystem.”
All first-person patient testimonials urge California legislators in Congress and Sacramento to safeguard life-saving innovation and include three segments: 1) Protect California biomedical innovation; 2) Protect access to care; and 3) What would you tell policymakers. The initial patients in the CLSA video series include:
- Jeff Finerman, who was diagnosed with advanced stage prostate cancer when he was 67 years old. Thanks to biomedical treatments researched and developed in California, Jeff has been able to see his twin daughters excel in high school and live a healthier, fuller life. Jeff says: “You can’t put a value on curing someone from potential death.” Click here to watch Jeff’s full story.
- Evaleen Minez Harris, a Bay Area resident and mother of two, who was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy shortly after the birth of her twins. She was rushed into surgery and had the HeartMate 3TM left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted. This medical device is currently saving her life while she waits for a heart transplant. Watch Evaleen’s full story here.
- California native Deborah Goldberg, who is working to beat colorectal cancer thanks to the state-of-the-art treatments developed by the California biomedical community. Deborah and her husband are extremely thankful she had access to innovative cancer treatments and is alive today. Meet Deborah and see how critical the California biomedical industry has been to her battle with cancer.
- Vance Sharp III, who was suffering from congestive heart failure, and who had few options left when he had a HeartMate 3TM LVAD implanted. Thanks to this device, Vance can continue living out the golden years with his wife Monika and be with his two daughters into their adulthood. Hear how medical innovations developed in California are helping Vance live a normal, active life.
“CLSA is proud to be at the forefront of utilizing new and innovative communications tactics to help tell the stories of patients whose lives have been positively impacted by treatments and cures developed by the life sciences sector,” said CLSA Communications Director Will Zasadny. “This new campaign will bolster our efforts to educate policymakers on the contributions innovative life scientists and CLSA member companies make to improve patient care.”
Visit the newly launched website at www.ProtectAccessAndInnovation.org to view the digital campaign and get involved. Additional patient stories will be introduced throughout the year focusing on advancements in biomedical innovation from California companies. Californians can join the conversation by using #FacesofCABiomedicalInnovation or signing up here to share their story.
For reporters interested in broadcast quality video, please contact Will Zasadny, Director, Communications (wzasadny@califesciences.org).
- Learn more about the California life sciences industry
- View CLSA’s Legislative Action Center
- View CLSA’s Advocacy Priorities
- View upcoming CLSA events
About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)
California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. With offices in Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies and grow California’s life sciences economy. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers throughout the Golden State. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.