Dive Brief:
- San Diego, San Francisco, and Boston are usually the cities that come to mind when thinking about biotech hubs. But another one could soon join the list, according to FierceBiotech: New York City.
- Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the Early-Stage Life Sciences Funding Initiative in order to raise money for about 15 to 20 biotech startups in the city, and current Mayor Bill de Blasio is continuing the effort.
- Big name firms like Eli Lilly, Celgene, and GE Ventures have been involved in the project from the get-go and poured in more than $40 million. Now, VC giants Flagship Ventures and Arch Venture partners have joined the fray and the funding goal has been upped to $150 million from $100 million.
Dive Insight:
"New York's institutions and people are making the discoveries that will be the basis for thriving, innovative life science companies," said Flagship Managing Partner Douglas Cole in a statement. "The community is poised to become a world leader in translating breakthrough science into therapies that will improve people's lives."
The main hurdle to biotech R&D in NYC is the city's exorbitant real estate prices. But officials say that they want to help create affordable office spaces for biotechs in an effort to woo more promising R&D operations in a city that already has a fair share of world class universities and research institutions.
For instance, NYC is proposing to redevelop one 14-story building into a massive life science research hub.