Bay Curious How South San Francisco Went From Industrial City to Biotech Hub
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Mar 5, 2026 Lesley McClurg, KQED health correspondent who reported the story, traces South San Francisco's shift from heavy industry to a dense biotech cluster. She explores why industrial zoning and available space attracted pioneers like Genentech. The episode covers the Asilomar safety pause, regional capital and risk-taking, and how early labs and alumni founders created a biotech hotspot.
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Industrial Infrastructure Made Room For Biotech
- South San Francisco transformed from heavy industry to biotech because it already tolerated hazardous industries and had available infrastructure.
- The city's zoning, light regulation, and empty warehouses made it easy for labs to set up fermentation vats and piping quickly.
Local Risk Tolerance Coupled With Capital Sparked Biotech
- The Bay Area's appetite for risk and available capital paired with scientific talent created fertile ground for biotech in the 1970s.
- Historical factors like the Gold Rush mindset and local banks meant both entrepreneurs and venture money were nearby when recombinant DNA emerged.
Asilomar and Public Fear Shaped Early Biotech Rules
- Recombinant DNA research was controversial and sparked widespread public fear about lab safety and ethics in the mid-1970s.
- Scientists paused work and met at Asilomar in 1975 to write safety guidelines amid headlines about superbugs and nuclear-era anxieties.