The JP Morgan Investor Conference serves as the kick-off to the new financial year, and, despite being hit by San Francisco's Storm of the Century, the 2017 conference broke several big stories 

of interest to the New York life sciences community. 

In a major development for New York, Johnson & Johnson Innovation announced that it was opening JLABS @ NYC in collaboration with New York State and the New York Genome Center. NewYorkBIO's Nathan Tinker said, "JLABS @ NYC adds another major research asset to New YorkCity's increasingly impressive number of commercial research centers." Set to open in 2018 at the New York Genome Center, JLABS's proposed 30,000 square foot facility joins commercial research centers, such as the Pfizer Center for Therapeutic Innovation and the Roche Translational Research Center as well as renowned academic research centers making a home in New York.

Find out more about NewYorkBIO events

As the premier east coast conference for publicly traded life science companies, the BIO CEO & Investor Conference looks to generate a strong  turnout  at the Waldorf Hotel on February 13th and 14th. NewYorkBIO Executive Director Nathan Tinker said that, as local co-host, the organization is "proud to 
partner with BIO in producing this important conference, and we are, once  again, welcoming attendees with our rooftop reception on Sunday evening ."

Attracting life science companies and investors from across the industry, the BIO CEO & Investor Conference is set to include panel sessions, Fireside Chats, and partnering opportunities. Anticipated topics include microbiome research applications, next-generation pain control, biosimilars, and a policy outlook for the new administration. Last year's conference attracted 1400 attendees, including approximately 650 investors, and generated 2,500 partnering meetings and 190 company presentations. NewYorkBIO will host a welcome reception on Sunday, February 12th.

NewYorkBIO welcomes important provisions of the governor's initiative:

• Addressing the lack of affordable lab space, including designating tax-free zones under the StartUP NY program as well as funding for the creation of new life science incubators in the state. NewYorkBIO also supports a restructuring of the StartUP NY program make it easier for companies to find tax-free space and to aid in the development of life science clusters tied to institutions of higher learning.

• Increasing access to capital for early and growth-stage companies, including a refundable corporate tax credit to help early stage companies access capital. NewYorkBIO applauds this position and encourages the state to revisit the refund ability of other existing tax credits for early and growth stage companies.
   
• Attracting and retaining top scientific talent, including the implementation of a life sciences researcher recruitment program. NewYorkBIO remains committed to creating opportunities to increase the connectivity of our industry.

NewYorkBIO applauds the Mayor's  program to strengthen the life sciences ecosystem in NYC through strategic initiatives and public-private partnerships in key areas:

• Spurring the creation of additional commercial lab space in New York, with targeted tax incentives as well as direct investment to fund incubators and innovation centers.  NewYorkBIO strongly feels that these provisions will help offset the high cost of built-out lab space, while at the same time encouraging co-location among companies and among companies with academic partners.

• Developing a pipeline for academic talent, both by attracting talent to New York and by cultivating it through our world class academic institutions.  Employ New Yorkers

• Building a Life Sciences Management Corps and the Mayor's Life Sciences Advisory Council. NewYorkBio encourages the groups to investigate how smaller companies may begin to pool some shared services to compete effectively for talent.

NewYorkBIO has been advocating for this kind of large-scale thinking and investment, and we applaud the vision put forth by both  Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio to grow this vital industry.

Nathan Tinker, NewYorkBIO Executive Director said of the initiatives, "New York is truly poised to build the world's foremost life science cluster, with a range of business, research, and patient assets unavailable anywhere else. NewYorkBIO has a wide array of experts within our membership who are enthusiastic about these opportunities to strengthen our industry while helping the next generation of innovators to succeed. We look forward to to working with the governor, the mayor, and their administrations to make New York the premiere destination for life sciences innovation and research."

For more information:

Governor Cuomo Announces Groundbreaking $650 Million Initiative to Fuel Growth of a World-Class Life Science Cluster in New York

LifeSci NYC: Ten strategic initiatives to establish New York City as the global leader in life sciences research and innovation

NewYorkBIO will schedule all legislative meetings and provide attendees with a legislative briefing prior to their visits to the Statehouse. Attendees meet in small groups with legislators, agencies, key offices and committees, and senior staff. Each group will be accompanied by a NewYorkBIO staff representative for all visits.

Because these issues are so important to the bioscience community, there is no registration fee for members or non-members to attend Bioscience Advocacy Day.

It is always our goal to make the Bioscience Advocacy Day as easy as possible for our visiting attendees; please do not hesitate to contact us with questions.

Argon Medical Devices, Inc., announced the completed acquisition of three vascular products from Rex Medical, LLC.

Cellectis, Inc

Cellectis, Inc., announced that four new members joined Cellectis' Clinical Advisory Board.

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Celmatix, Inc.

Celmatix launched its screening test for women's fertility.

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City University of New York

CUNY Biomedical Engineering announced that NIH-NINDS awarded a 5-year R01 grant for its investigational work entitled, "Effects of direct-current stimulation on synaptic plasticity."

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Lin Bioscience and Columbia Technology Ventures announced that Lin Bioscience has licensed the intellectual property portfolio and development program for a medication intended to slow or halt the progression of atrophic "Dry" Age-Related Macular Degeneration.  

Genentech announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Lucentis® 0.5 mg for the treatment of patients with myopic choroidal neovascularization.

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A collaboration beginning in 2013 between the NYSCF Research Institute and the Personal Genome Project (PGP) resulted in the availability of a unique new stem cell resource for scientists around the world.

Roche, Inc., announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted the company's supplemental Biologics License Application and granted Priority Review for TECENTRIQ® (atezolizumab)