NEW YORK CITY—The Economic Development Corp. has expanded the Early-Stage Life Sciences Funding Initiative, a public-private partnership intended to position New York City as a global capital for life sciences innovation, a measure that likely would result in both thousands of new jobs and pioneering medical innovations for patients.
The co-investment partnership has exceeded its initial funding goal by $50 million to launch with a total of $150 million, which includes $10 million in anchor funding from NYCEDC and leveraged with capital from industry partners and managed by venture capital partners. The Funding Initiative will identify and invest in research generated by the city's academic medical institutions and entrepreneurs, creating and growing life sciences companies.
Further, the city is working to “dramatically increase” the current stock of less than one million square feet of commercial R&D laboratory capacity in New York City, in order to give early-stage and established companies the affordable, accessible and connected physical space needed to grow and thrive. These efforts include the redevelopment of an underutilized 14-story city-owned building on First avenue and East 26th street, which will be repositioned into a new bioscience research center anticipated to house 100,000 square feet of new wet lab space. A private partner for this effort will be announced in the coming months.
“These investments are going to spur a new generation of companies in this vital sector, which means good jobs and career pathways for New Yorkers,” says Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Adds Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for housing and economic development, “The investment we are making will activate the untapped economic potential of this sector, which is poised for enormous growth. The Early-Stage Life Sciences Funding Initiative will demonstrate the power of public-private partnership to grow our local economy and elevate New York City's status as a global business capital.”
NYCEDC president Kyle Kimball asserts, “New York City is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the Life Sciences. The Life Sciences Funding Initiative and our infrastructure investments respond directly to the challenges facing the life sciences community—the need for increased capital and affordable real estate. These initiatives connect the dots of the life sciences ecosystem, bringing important innovations to market right here in the five boroughs, harnessing the city's tremendous potential, and generating thousands of quality jobs.”
The project leverages NYCEDC funding with capital from industry partners Celgene Corp., GE Ventures and Eli Lilly and Co. (Lilly). Two top tier venture capital firms, Flagship Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners, will manage separate investment activities within the Funding Initiative and will each establish a presence in New York City.
The Funding Initiative will bring catalytic investment to support the launch of new businesses that are collectively expected to create 2,000 direct jobs by 2020, and more broadly accelerate the growth of New York City's life sciences ecosystem, which includes therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, research and development instrumentation and the digital life sciences.
“This is an exciting initiative for New York City and exactly the kind of development we need to turn cutting-edge research into new and expanding businesses,” says US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “This initiative further positions New York as a leader in the life sciences industry.”
"The life sciences are essential to New York City's success as a modern city,” contends Councilmember Ben Kallos. "Investing in technology to better human health advances our society and powers our economy.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
