ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUBSIDY REPORT PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 53083 FOR AN AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN CITY OF BAKERSFIELD AND BIOS HEALTH LTD.
Pursuant to California Government Code 53083, the City Council of the City of Bakersfield must hold a noticed public hearing and, prior to the public hearing, provide all the following information in written form and available to the public and through the City’s website, regarding a proposed economic development subsidy to be provided by the City pursuant to an Agreement by and between the City of Bakersfield and BIOS Health Ltd. (“Agreement”). Notice was published on the City’s website for a public hearing to be held on May 28, 2025. The purpose of this report is to provide the information required pursuant to Government Code Section 53083 in regard to the Agreement. This report shall remain available to the public and posted on the City’s website until the end date of the economic development subsidy, as further described in Number 2 below.
1. The name and address of all corporations or any other business entities, except for sole proprietorships, that are the beneficiary of the economic development subsidy.
The Agreement is with BIOS Health Ltd., currently located at 8 Bateman Mews, CB2 1NN, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
2. The start and end dates and schedule, if applicable, for the economic development subsidy.
If the Agreement is approved by City Council, the subsidy begins upon execution and approval of the Agreement on May 28, 2025, and expires on June 30, 2026. Contractual extensions are permissible at the ECD Director’s discretion.
3. A description of the economic development subsidy, including the estimated total amount of the expenditure of public funds by, or of revenue lost to, the local agency because of the economic development subsidy.
The economic development subsidy shall be two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).
4. A statement of the public purposes for the economic development subsidy.
The City will be assisting with funding for the expansion of BIOS Health Ltd. as it develops a West Coast commercial research hub, in the amount of $250,000. The purpose of the expansion will be to bring new industry and jobs to Bakersfield to accelerate t he broader economic development goals through fundamental innovation, medical research and development, machine learning and artificial intelligence manufacturing in Kern County.
BIOS will continue to support the development and growth of a Precision Medicine Initiative through California State University, Bakersfield, the purpose of which is to support broader ecosystem and workforce development. If BIOS does not receive these funds, it will be unable to contract key local and international advisors who will accelerate this initiative.
The economic development subsidy includes a grant ($250,000) for assistance with the establishment of a West Coast clinical and commercial hub in Bakersfield. The public purpose of the subsidy aligns with the City’s Public Safety and Vital Services (PSVS) Community Priority No. 11 to encourage job creation through economic development, workforce development, business retention and attraction.
5. The projected tax revenue to the local agency as a result of the economic development subsidy.
The City of Bakersfield is proposing an economic subsidy for BIOS Health to establish a state-of- the-art precision medicine center in Bakersfield. BIOS Health is a research and development company that will not produce sales tax revenue to the local agency . The benefits this economic subsidy offers are job creation, enhanced quality of life, land use and development, and bringing new industry to Kern County.
6. The estimated number of jobs created by the economic development subsidy, broken down by full-time, part-time, and temporary positions.
Subject to the availability of suitable funding, BIOS Health Ltd. estimates four (4) part-time, remote positions in 2025; three (3) full time positions in 2026 defined as one administrative, one business development, and one clinical product support position; and four (4) full time positions in 2027 defined as one clinical product lead, one clinical trial support, and two clinical product support positions.