Quick Take

The Westside's Unnatural Products lands $45 million more for its work to develop treatments for certain types of rare cancers and diseases, Jessica M. Pasko reports in her weekly survey of local business. Downtown Santa Cruz housing plus names, numbers and dates to know are also on the menu.

Each week, we’re taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

Santa Cruz biotech company raises $45 million in new funding to develop treatments for rare diseases

Unnatural Products has netted another $45 million in new funding to advance its efforts to develop treatments for certain types of rare cancers and diseases that have been resistant to other therapies.

Founded in 2017 by two UC Santa Cruz alumni, Cameron Pye and Joshua Schwochert, Unnatural Products has developed an artificial intelligence-based platform to help with development and discovery of new drugs. The company, headquartered on the Westside of Santa Cruz, is focused on developing drugs using what are known as macrocyclic peptides, which can be used for highly targeted treatments. It enables pharmaceutical developers to provide an oral pill form instead of injections, which currently is the only method available. 

This latest funding represents the company’s Series B funding round, referring to a company’s second significant round of venture capital funding. Investors in this round include The Venture Collective, Argenx and Droia Ventures in addition to existing investment from the likes of Merck Global Health Innovation, the pharmaceutical giant’s investment arm. The company raised its previous major funding round – $23 million – in late 2023.  

ICYMI: New housing along San Lorenzo finally opens, connected to the river for first time in decades

About 50 people attended the grand opening of the RiverRow development in downtown Santa Cruz on March 12. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

The newest apartment building to open in downtown Santa Cruz marks the first time since the 1950s that a new development is connected to the San Lorenzo River.

Santa Cruz city officials celebrated the opening of the RiverRow development last week, which offers 175 apartment units, including 20 set aside as “affordable.” The development includes a passageway that connects Front Street to the riverfront. 

Read more from Tania Ortiz here.

Ch-ch-changes

  • Pretty Good Advice opens in San Jose: Popular vegetarian breakfast and lunch spot Pretty Good Advice has opened a third location, this time in San Jose, located at 125 Paseo de Antonio. Chef and owner Matt McNamara opened the restaurant’s first location in Soquel in 2018, followed by a spot in downtown Santa Cruz in 2024. McNamara co-founded Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, which received a Michelin star in 2012. He left in 2017 to live full-time on his farm in Soquel and then started Pretty Good Advice, a casual, counter-service joint specializing in breakfast sandwiches, vegetarian burgers, salads and a small menu of other breakfast and lunch items. 
  • Combination surf shop, art gallery and event space opening in Pleasure Point: Sunny California, a new lifestyle brand and retail store from the former owner of Midtown Surf Shop, is set to open next Friday, March 27, on 41st Avenue. Founder and creative director David McIntosh previously ran Midtown Surf Shop, which closed its Soquel Avenue store in late 2024. Since its closure, McIntosh has developed his own apparel and accessory lines. The new Sunny California store will feature a surf shop, art gallery and live event space, located at 912 41st Ave., the former home of Buell Surf Shop.
  • LG Meats closes Capitola location: LG Meats Capitola, an offshoot of Los Gatos Meats & Smokehouse, closed last month. The family-owned butcher shop opened its Capitola Village sandwich shop and deli in May 2024 at the corner of Monterey and Capitola avenues. The original Los Gatos storefront on University Avenue remains open. 
  • Applications now open for Leadership Santa Cruz County’s 40th cohort: Leadership Santa Cruz County, a program that helps hone leadership skills and encourage civic involvement, is now accepting applicants for its next class. Participants must commit to nine Fridays and a two-day retreat between August 2026 and June 2027. The deadline to apply is April 24. 
  • Granite Construction lauded for its early career programs: Watsonville’s Granite Construction received the Handshake Early Talent Award for the sixth consecutive year. The national awards program, held by career network and job search platform Handshake, recognizes employers that consistently engage students and recent graduates through career opportunities, including hiring practices and long-term professional development.

Got hires, promotions or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

What’s new on the Lookout Job Board

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Looking at the numbers

  • $23,000: That’s the annual income for most farmworkers, when most families of four need at least $76,000 to survive in the Monterey Bay region. That’s according to the findings of a new report from UC Santa Cruz’s Institute for Social Transformation. The study focused on the conditions of farmworkers in the Salinas Valley. Read Tania Ortiz’s full story here.

Save the date 

  • Wednesday, March 18: The Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce holds its next “business after hours” event at Dominican Hospital, 1555 Soquel Dr., Santa Cruz, from 5 to 7 p.m. Details and registration here.
  • Wednesday, March 18: Santa Cruz Hardware Meetup is hosting its next meetup at Swellcycle’s headquarters in the Old Wrigley Building on Mission Street on the Westside. The meetup includes a tour of the offices as well as networking and a demo. Capacity for the event, scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m., is limited. Registration is here.
  • Wednesday, March 18: The Santa Cruz County Skilled Trades Job Fair takes place from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Grove Event Center on Beach Street in Santa Cruz. The free event connects job seekers with local employers and training providers in construction, HVAC, welding, maintenance and more. More details here.
  • Thursday, March 26: Dr. Kendall Welch will hold a ribbon-cutting and open house celebration for her new naturopathic practice from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2955 Park Ave., Soquel.
  • Wednesday, April 1: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a workshop for small businesses to provide training about AI and its application. Experts from Meta’s Blueprint team will lead the training, titled FutureProof Your Business, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Register here.
  • Friday, April 3: Cabrillo College leaders will hold a career education summit to provide more information about the college’s career education and workforce training programs. Cabrillo President Jenn Capps will be joined by other leaders in workforce and economic development, and students from the college’s culinary and hospitality program will prepare lunch. Students currently in career education programs will also share their experiences. The event takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Horticulture Center, Room 5005, on Cabrillo’s Aptos campus. More details and registration are available here.
  • Thursday, April 16: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual community recognition awards event at The Grove in Santa Cruz from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Register here.
  • Thursday, April 16: Cabrillo College is hosting a job and internship fair from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Aptos campus. The event is open to the public and participation is free for employers. More details available here.
  • Saturday, April 18: The Downtown Association of Santa Cruz will hold a teen job training from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help local teens with guidance on how to land a summer job. The free event, to be held at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History on Front Street, includes lunch, résumé-writing tips and presentations from local employers. Register here.
  • Saturday, April 25: Mission West will hold a grand opening event to celebrate its new ownership. The Westside dive bar changed hands at the start of the year. The event, scheduled for 2 to 10 p.m., includes live music, dancing and local vendors. 

Add your business or networking events to Lookout’s free public calendar, BOLO. Click here to add your event.

Business news worth reading

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Jessica M. Pasko has been writing professionally for almost two decades. She cut her teeth in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in her native Albany, New York, where she covered everything...