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In January, Mayor de Blasio announced four infrastructure grants totaling $38 million as a part of of LifeSci NYC, a $500 million commitment to establish New York City as a global leader in life sciences and public health. LifeSci NYC’s investments span three areas – connecting research to industry, unlocking space for life science growth, and building a diverse pipeline of industry talent in New York City.

Since 2016, LifeSci NYC has partnered with BioLabs@NYULangone to activate the City’s largest wet-lab incubator, launched an annual summer internship for undergraduates and graduate students interested in life sciences careers, and partnered with Deerfield Management and King Street Properties to develop a total of more than 500,000 square feet of new lab space, located at 345 Park Avenue South and 48-15 Court Square respectively.

The most recent awards will fund applied research and development (R&D) facilities at four of New York City’s leading scientific research institutions—Columbia University, Montefiore-Einstein, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, and Rockefeller University. Each facility will be dedicated to facilitating partnerships between New York’s leading academic scientists, and biotech and pharmaceutical companies, with the ultimate goal of advancing innovative treatments for patients and growing the local industry.

Columbia University’s Therapeutic Validation Center will receive up to $9 million to establish research facilities dedicated to accelerating early-stage research into new start-ups. The Center will be located within Columbia University’s existing facilities and be open to scientists and entrepreneurs throughout the city, regardless of affiliation. The new Center will use advanced mass spectrometry imaging technology to create next-generation medicines that work by analyzing and orchestrating the behavior of individual cells in the human body to work in concert to eliminate disease. Columbia is in discussion with commercial partners about partnering on this initiative.

Montefiore Medicine, together with its medical school, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, will launch the Einstein-Montefiore Biotechnology Accelerated Research Center (EMBARC) to establish a biomanufacturing operation focused on cell, gene, and antibody therapy production. This facility, supported with up to $13 million, will be located on Montefiore’s Einstein campus in Morris Park and be open to early stage and established companies in need of these scientific facilities.

New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) will be awarded up to $6.5 million to equip an expansion of its Research Institute located in West Midtown, enabling the translation of their research into new drugs and treatments ready for the clinic. The Institute’s expanded operations also allow further collaborations with local universities, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical companies, and technology organizations who look to bring innovative cell-based treatments to patients in need. The equipment, funded by the City, will increase NYSCF’s cell production capacity, process development abilities, and drug screening capabilities. The grant will also fund equipment for the NYSCF Research Institute clinical laboratory to further enable precision medicine approaches.

The Rockefeller University will receive up to $9 million to convert academic research labs into the Tri- Institutional Translational Center for Therapeutics, an incubator for commercial life sciences, which will serve as the first of its kind in the Upper East Side cluster of biomedical institutions. This new facility will also seek to convert the scientific potential of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weil Cornell Medicine into local high-growth companies.

Agenda

1:00 PM – 1:10 PM Welcome and Overview of the Meeting

Nancy J Kelley, President & CEO, Nancy J Kelley + Associates, Steering Committee, NYC Builds Bio+

Mitchel W. Simpler, PE, FACEC, Managing Partner Emeritus, JB&B, Steering Committee, NYC Builds Bio+

1:10 PM – 1:50 PM Panel Presentation

MODERATOR:

Carlo Yuvienco, Vice President of Life Sciences, NYCEDC

Elsie Yau, Senior Project Manager, LifeSci NYC, NYCEDC

1:10 PM – 1:30 PM Session 1

EINSTEIN-MONTEFIORE BIOTECHNOLOGY ACCELERATED RESEARCH CENTER (EMBARC)

Harris Goldstein, PhD, Associate Dean for Scientific Resources, Albert Enstein College of Medicine

NEW YORK STEM CELL FOUNDATION (NYSCF

David McKeon, PhD, Chief of Staff, New York Stem Cell Foundation

1:30 PM – 1:50 PM Session 2

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S THERAPEUTIC VALIDATION CENTER

Brent Stockwell, PhD, Professor, Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Columbia University

TRI-INSTITUTIONAL TRANSLATIONAL CENTER FOR THERAPEUTICS

Timothy P. O’Connor, PhD, Executive Vice President, Rockefeller University

Jeanne Farrell, Associate Vice President, Office of Technology Transfer, Rockefeller University

1:50 PM – 2:00 PM Q&A With Audience

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM Networking with Speakers