Session Summary by Chelsea Rao, Julie Chan, Lenzie Harcum, & Kristy Sundjaja
Center for Economic Transformation

New York City’s bioscience enterprises, academic medical centers, non-profit research institutions and healthcare technology companies—also known as “Eds & Meds”—represent a significant asset base from which to develop a broader bioscience cluster. On October 19th, we held the latest in our series of NYC workshops with senior leaders from the life sciences and healthcare sector as part of our Bio (Eds & Meds) NYC 2020 study. Building on a series of interviews, roundtables and workshops launched in May 2011, we proposed initiatives to increase NYC’s competitiveness in the Eds & Meds sector. We were fortunate to have over 20 participants from NYC’s academic medical centers, venture capital firms, and bio/health companies, including Marc Tessier-Lavigne (President, Rockefeller University), Mikael Dolsten (President, Pfizer), Steven M. Paul (Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures and  Weill Cornell Medical College) and Todd T. Pietri (Co-Founder, General Partner, Milestone Venture Partners). 

Key Findings:
The feedback that we received is critical in learning how the city can best support the Eds & Meds sector:  

1. The Eds & Meds ecosystem should be separated into two distinct areas: life sciences and technology-enabled healthcare. These two areas are significantly different in terms of, funding needs, infrastructure needs and stakeholders. 
2. Initiatives should leverage the City’s strengths in academic research, clinical care and information technology. By facilitating the development of a vibrant entrepreneurial culture and supportive environment for early-stage companies, the City can help translate its strengths into robust local commercial activity. 
3. A venture fund of significant scale would have the most impact on the Eds & Meds sector overall. The fund should leverage private sector funds from both venture capital firms and institutional sources.
4. The City should prioritize initiatives capable of having the greatest impact on companies and individuals, such as innovation competitions, fellowship programs for budding entrepreneurs, and shared infrastructure for affordable commercial lab space. 

We thank Rockefeller University for hosting the event and Oliver Wyman for their assistance on this project as our knowledge partner. NYCEDC is dedicated to improving the economy of NYC and we remain committed to the Eds & Meds sector as important growth opportunity. In the coming months, we will build on what we learned from this session to further develop and refine initiatives to support the NYC Eds & Meds cluster.

We Welcome Your Feedback:
What are the major challenges and opportunities that you see in NYC’s life science and healthcare sectors? What are your thoughts on City-led initiatives that can strengthen the industry and its stakeholders? Add your voice to the conversation and post your comments below.