By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
Posted: 09/11/2009
Richard Graham talks about renovations of the old Mare Island dispensary, which will house Murigenics. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
If biotech is the industrial wave of the future, Vallejo may have finally caught a ride, with the relocation of a Berkeley firm to Mare Island.
MuriGenics, Inc., a pre-clinical development company dedicated to pharmacology, according to its literature, is moving into building No. 497, said Jason Keadjian, a spokesman for the main developer, Lennar Mare Island.
"Building 497 has been unoccupied, essentially, since the Navy left," Keadjian said. "It's a former medical dispensary and also served as a security office."
The 15,000-square-foot structure was built around 1938, he said.
MuriGenics founder and owner Henry Lopez said it took some shopping around, but the Vallejo location perfectly suits his firm's needs. The nearly 9-year-old business outgrew its present space "a while ago," he said.
"We looked around and couldn't find anything I liked, and then a friend recommended Mare Island about two years ago," said Lopez, a Napa resident originally from Taos, N.M. "I came across this building and thought it would be great. We love the location, and there's potential for growth."
The firm, which collaborates with others in the biotech and pharmacological industries to research and create compounds to treat diseases, will move to Vallejo with 12 employees but hopes to grow to 20, he said.
"We're tapped into several local universities -- UCSF, Berkeley, Stanford, Davis," Lopez said. "We haven't spoken with Touro yet, but that's possible. That would be great."
A Touro spokesman said officials of the Mare Island-based medical and pharmacy school are open to the idea. "We have not had direct contact, but it sounds like an exciting prospect," said Touro's Jesus Mena.
"We have research models, but it's a small operation, and to have a firm like this nearby could be a good opportunity to create a collaboration, for cross-fertilizing," added Touro's associate dean for research, Alejandro Gugliucci. "And it's good for Vallejo. It could create jobs, eventually even for our students."
With expertise in genotyping, data analyses and other general molecular biology functions, the firm works to find treatments for conditions like autoimmune diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders like diabetes, its literature says.
This is the first business of its type to set up shop on the island, and "a step in the right direction," as it promises to increase the tax base, create jobs and "support the community facilities district," Keadjian said.
"We're pleased that Mare Island continues to attract a variety of business types, which is, after all, the goal of the re-use plan," he said. "We hope this is the start of more such businesses coming to the Island."
The area into which MuriGenics is moving, is known as re-use area 3-B, and is designated a waterfront mixed-use area under the Mare Island Specific Plan, Keadjian said. The area runs north of the dry docks from the waterfront to Walnut Avenue, he said.
Renovation work is under way inside the Railroad Street building, which is hoped will be ready for move-in by November, project manager Richard Graham said.
"They want to be in by Halloween, but that's pushing it, I think," Graham said. "There's a lot of work to be done, but it will look pretty nice when it's done."
Company officials hope to start full operation by the end of the year, Keadjian said.
Besides general cleanup and interior and exterior painting, two Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant restrooms and new heating and air-conditioning systems are being installed, Graham said. Old air-conditioners and window fans are being removed from the two-story building, the upper floors of which provide room for later expansion, Graham said.
Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or RachelZ@thnewsnet.com.
