Lack of dedicated research areas and venture capital funding hampers the growth of biotech and life sciences companies in the Los Angeles area, industry officials said at a conference addressing the industry’s direction.While areas outside of the city proper, such as Thousand Oaks – home to Amgen – and the Santa Clarita Valley have attracted multiple companies, more needs to be done, said Alfred Mann, the CEO of MannKind Corp., a Valencia-based pharmaceutical firm developing drugs to treat diabetes and cancer.