It's commendable that the Australians drug giant CSL wants to buy into Calimmune, a company founded by a Tucsonan. But what does Tucson get from this "great news"?
Local investors in Calimmune may see the value of their holdings increase, now that they're owners in CSL and not Calimmune. Or they may cash out and enjoy their earnings. How many local investors are there?
CSL's future investments in gene-therapy R&D and the high-paying jobs that go with will benefit Pasadena, California, where that activity takes place today.
Tucson may get (or lose) a few management jobs and some relatively low-wage office jobs.
CSL and Calimmune are making rational business decisions. No bad on them. One merely wishes our local development "experts" and policymakers would stop relying on business-as-usual deals like this one to camouflage their inability to foresee a sustainable economic future for our region -- and just start creating one.
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Robert Jacobson
West side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
