The SHIP Act would be in place for when cannabis grows are legal at the federal level.
At the beginning of July, San Rafael-based BioMarin Inc. closed the acquisition of Inozyme Pharma Inc. The transaction was valued at $270 million at $4 a share, taking Inozyme private. BioMarin and Inozyme signed a basic agreement in June.
The deal was all cash, which wasn’t a stretch for BioMarin. As of the end of the first quarter this year, BioMarin had $1.2 billion in cash on hand.
Boston-based Inozyme has 50 employees and develops therapeutics to regulate bone health and blood vessel function. The company was formerly listed on Nasdaq.
Its research and work dovetails BioMarin’s focus on orphan diseases, that is BioMarin seeks to develop drugs to treat diseases with limited patient populations that are often overlooked by other drug companies. In turn the Food and Drug Administration gives certain advantages to drug companies willing to explore treatment of so-called orphan diseases.
While BioMarin has enjoyed success in developing drugs in this limited sector, it has also had to deal with a degree of turbulence from Wall Street investors and analysts looking to the biotech sector for broader profit environments. In particular, BioMarin had to spend time in 2023 appeasing activist investor Elliott Management. The hedge fund felt BioMarin was not considering its long-term prospects and insisted on creating a strategy review committee, as well as giving Elliott three seats on its board of directors.
SHIP Act
The Small and Homestead Independent Producers Act, authored by Congressman Jared Huffman (Oregon’s Val Hoyle is the other sponsor) aims to give small cannabis farmers a better shot at surviving an industry moving toward consolidation.
“Larger, commercialized cannabis operators are infiltrating the market and squeezing out our local farmers in the process,” Huffman said in a statement. “So, when the antiquated federal prohibition on cannabis finally gets repealed, we need to have substantial legislation ready to help these small businesses survive. My legislation would ensure that folks can ship their products straight to consumers, which would both help expand small businesses and ensure farmers stay afloat. When full legalization is guaranteed, we must commit to not leaving our smallest family-farmers behind.”
Huffman has become more outspoken as the political ecosystem in Washington D.C. has become more treacherous. While the Democratic party searches for an identity as well as a backbone, Huffman has kept his sense of humor while doing his best to navigate an environment notable for its ultra-partisan flavor and the Trump administration’s ambition to shift Trump’s presidency into a dictatorship.
Huffman’s SHIP Act is nothing if not ambitious, not just because of its focus. While California continues to produce the highest quality cannabis in the world, the state can’t get out of its own way when it comes to the industry itself. I’ve covered the cannabis sector for a few years now and I can say that I’ve never covered an industry that asked for more regulation until I reported on the pot beat. Talking to the players, they would say: Just give me a solid set of rules to follow and let us operate. For its part, the state understood there was big cash to be made via taxes and regulation on cannabis, they just had almost no idea how to regulate and allow for a level playing field.
Add to that the fact the Feds are still hanging onto a mentality of Reefer Madness as cannabis is still classified alongside heroin and cocaine, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Think of it this way: Forty different states have made medical use of cannabis legal. And 24 states say recreational use of the drug is fine, as well. California is the fourth largest economy in the world and a leader in technology. But when it comes to creating an environment where cannabis can succeed, California’s government is dazed and confused.
Your Marin Moment
As a former resident of Sausalito (I lived on a pair of houseboats), I can say I’ve never seen a place so caught up in battling itself. The project seeking to turn the old Wells Fargo bank on Bridgeway into a restaurant with three hotel suites is a fine example of the Sausalito psychosis.
The project received a green light from the planning commission last December and was promptly appealed by neighbors who felt the project would bring too much noise to the neighborhood.
So, the commission once again considered the project and issued eight different permits to allow the remodeling of the 101-year-old building.
In a telling quote, developer Kent Ipsen told the crowd gathered to debate his project that he had been dragged through the mud and that he understood that was part of the plan. He’s of course correct and all I can say is buckle up, his ride isn’t over. When the city council on Aug. 6 voted 4-1 to reject the appeal, neighbors vowed to sue to stop the project.
