An article in SFGate provides a good sense of the cut and thrust behind the scenes of biotechnology commerce; how regional government, development organizations and corporations interact. "A second biotechnology firm is moving to San Francisco's Mission Bay area ... The Sirna move was lauded by city business leaders who want San Francisco -- with Mission Bay as the centerpiece -- to become a major player in the growing biotech industry ... San Francisco is also hoping to capitalize on the requirement that all $3 billion in grants from [CIRM's] 10-year stem cell research funding program must go to companies or institutions located in California." Even limited competition is good - it's the alchemy by which greed and self-interest are transformed into technological progress.

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/05/BUGMTBKQNM1.DTL