Five years is a long time. But in New York biotech it might as well be a century given how fast things are changing.
Back in 2011, Xconomy held an event called New York Life Sciences 2031. In light of a major initiative by city, university, and industry leaders to spur the local life sciences scene, the idea was to look 20 years out to see how things might change.
Just five years later, a lot already has. Since 2011, the New York Genome Center and Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute, two multi-institutional efforts, have been formed. Incubators have popped up. Biotech venture firms have planted flags in New York and started high-profile companies, and more continue to emerge. While that’s commonplace in other, more established biotech hubs like Boston and San Francisco, in New York this signals a change in thinking about the potential of the city to produce a biotech startup ecosystem.
Some critical problems remain to be solved—chiefly affordable lab space and room for startups to grow and prosper locally without relocating elsewhere. And recent leadership changes have complicated matters. Combined, they’ve left New York at a pivotal point in its biotech growth, in which the scales can tip one way or the other.
Given the crucial time for New York and the pace of change, we’ve decided to invite a new set of leaders to look just five years into the future in an interactive session with the local life sciences community. What changes will the city have undergone? What new initiatives are underway to further spur growth? And what does the community have to do to maximize that growth?
At the Apella event space at the Alexandria Center for Life Science on Dec. 15, we’ll discuss these issues and more at an event we’re calling “New York Life Sciences 2021.” You can grab your tickets here.
Here are some of the speakers you can expect to see:
—Judy Dunn, Vice President, Global Head of Clinical Development and Head, Innovation Center, Roche
—George Yancopoulos, Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
—Jeremy Levin, CEO & Chairman of the Board, Ovid Therapeutics
—Carlo Rizzuto, Partner, Versant Ventures
More are on the way. Space is limited, so be sure to save some cash and grab a ticket early. See you all on Dec. 15 in New York.
