SAN DIEGO & SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Research-to-Production Pipeline: When Lab Code Goes Live
The algorithm worked in the lab notebook. It passed FDA review. Now it runs on 50,000 patients and nobody's touched the original code in three years because it's "working."
San Diego Life Sciences Code Analysis
The Research-Production Gap
Based on LOOM analysis of codebases from San Diego-area biotech, medical device, and defense companies, 2024-2025.
What We See in San Diego Tech Codebases
The Biotech Algorithm Transition
That diagnostic algorithm was Dr. Chen's PhD thesis. It's now running in 200 hospitals. Dr. Chen is at a competitor. The algorithm works, but nobody knows why the edge cases were handled the way they were.
San Diego pattern: Research brilliance, maintenance nightmare
The Defense System Stack
Qualcomm and defense contractors built San Diego. Their codebases follow CMMC, ITAR, and security requirements that most developers never see. The documentation exists—in classified repositories.
Unique constraint: You can't Google solutions for classified code
The Cross-Border Integration
Tijuana is 20 miles away. Medical device manufacturing happens there. Your US systems connect to Mexican manufacturing systems through integrations built when NAFTA was new. Different regulatory regimes, same codebase.
Reality: Two countries, two compliance frameworks, one product
The Wireless Legacy
San Diego invented modern wireless. The codebases reflect every generation: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G. Each generation added layers. Removing the old ones would break devices still in use. The archaeology runs deep.
Technical debt: Backward compatibility means forward complexity
The San Diego Technical Reality
San Diego's tech scene grew from research—UCSD, Scripps, Salk. The path from lab to market is shorter here than almost anywhere. That speed created a pattern: brilliant research code that becomes production code before it's ready.
Add defense contractors with strict compliance requirements and medical device companies with FDA oversight, and you get codebases that need to be understood precisely—but often aren't.
When your code affects patient outcomes or national security, "we think it works this way" isn't acceptable. LOOM shows you what's actually there.
San Diego Tech Ecosystem
Torrey Pines / La Jolla
Biotech corridor. Research institutions and the companies they spawned. Code that started in labs and ended in hospitals.
Sorrento Valley
Wireless and tech companies. Where Qualcomm built an industry. Codebases spanning multiple wireless generations.
Downtown / Harbor
Defense contractors and Navy tech. Code with clearance requirements and compliance frameworks that add complexity layers.
Is LOOM Right for Your San Diego Team?
Skip If...
- You're still in pure research mode with no production path
- Your codebase is under 2 years old with full documentation
- The original authors are still available and engaged
Essential If...
- Your production code originated as research prototypes
- FDA, CMMC, or other compliance requires architecture traceability
- The researchers who wrote the core algorithms have moved on
Understand Your Research-to-Production Pipeline
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