By Lucy Parkinson, Director ofĀ Research, LSN
When LSN decided to launch our first RESI NYC event, we knew that RESI would be part of a growing hub of resources dedicated to launching and supporting new biotech and medtech companies. The rise of NYC has been an ongoing story in the biotech world, and we’ve written before about how the city stands among the competitors to become North America’s third great life science hub.
For a long time, the New Jersey area has been a center for big pharma companies, and New York’s universities and research hospitals have long been a significant source of scientific breakthroughs in the life sciences. All told, we counted 80 pharma facilities, and almost all of these are located outside the city. Conversely, of the 32 relevant universities and research facilities plus 40 life science research nonprofits, most were within the city, as you can see in the image below. In the past, it’s been difficult for entrepreneurs to bridge that gulf between the creation of new technology and its commercialization.
Enter the bio-incubators and accelerator facilities, of which we found 16. Many of these are new facilities, as developers respond to the growing need for space to launch a new life science company in New York. The addition of this new infrastructure has made it much easier for entrepreneurs to start their operations – at RESI, our new panel called “Why NYC? Why Now?” will explore how this infrastructure has become a key building block for the city’s life science growth.
The other key factor required for NYC’s biotech scene to bloom? Capital. New York is awash with investment dollars, but in the past, little of that money has been focused on life science ventures specifically. Investors who are interested in biotech startups don’t necessarily have NYC on their map as a place to look for new companies. By bringing RESI to NYC and gathering together investors from all over the world, we hope to put New York firmly on the bio hub tour.
