Deborah Novick: Economic Forecast – Westchester’s biosciences sector in 2021

Westchester County is home to the largest biosciences cluster in New York state, boasting 8,000 jobs and 20 percent of the state”™s total biosciences employment. Our cluster comprises academic institutes doing basic research, R&D startups, large manufacturers and supply chain participants, and related industry experts providing specialized consulting, financing, marketing and communications, as well as other support services.

“Over the last few years, we have seen the bioscience industry grow exponentially in Westchester County, from those in the incubation stage that participate in our programs to the industry leaders expanding their reach,” Westchester County Executive George Latimer said. “We look forward to continuing to support this sector as it brings jobs and innovation to our county, strengthening the economy and our business community.”

Bioscience has long been a priority for the Westchester County Office of Economic Development, and our team is investing in its growth and continued success in 2021.

From startups to graduating companies
to industry giants
We are proud to support biotech startups, stage two companies and global leaders in the broad life sciences industry. Regeneron, Acorda Therapeutics and the Hudson Valley”™s only fully equipped biotechnology incubator, BioInc@NYMC, all call Westchester home.

Recently, we”™ve seen more businesses relocating to Westchester from the city. Oligomerix Inc. moved its headquarters from Manhattan to the Westchester Park Center in White Plains. In addition, Clarapath leased 7,000 square feet at 12 Skyline Drive after coming up from the Bronx. Existing Westchester businesses are also expanding their footprint: PTI recently signed a lease for 13,650 square feet of expansion space, now occupying about 28,000 square feet at 8 Skyline Drive, nearly four times the size of its original offices in Tuckahoe.

Why Westchester?
With New York ranking second in the nation for both life sciences jobs and higher education degrees in biosciences, Westchester”™s vibrant life sciences industry benefits from access to top-notch talent and a wide range of opportunities for this talent pool to apply its skills ”” thanks in part, to the county”™s 28 higher education institutions and award-winning public schools.

But education is only the tip of the iceberg. The perks of working and living in Westchester are endless: minutes away from New York City via car or train; more affordable commercial real estate options; 18,000 acres of parkland; vibrant downtowns and quiet suburbs; and a strong quality of life.

“The reality of it is, you need a ”˜live, work, play”™ scenario for these clusters to be successful,” said Patricia Ardigo, of PA Life Science Consulting. “When developing a true research park, you need to have that quality of life. These employees want to be able to get out of the lab and get outside when they can. They want a walking trail and to be able to synergistically talk and work together with people from other businesses in the park. That”™s how it develops itself.”

We can build it, they will come
The county”™s largest bioscience cluster centers are at Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College in Valhalla. With Regeneron, the BioInc@NYMC incubator (which currently has approximately 1,000 square feet of lab space and 1,500 square feet of office space available), and the North 60, a $1.2 billion bioscience, technology and lifestyle campus in the town of Mount Pleasant, in development, it has become a hub of bioscience in the county.

But the question remains, how much space is available for companies in this sector that are interested in relocating to Westchester.

According to Larry Gottlieb, managing director, life sciences and health technologies for RMC Bio1 ”” Robert Martin Co., what Westchester can offer is much more than just square footage.

“In 2021, it”™s not solely about lab space, but rather the flexibility and connectivity of the workspaces,” he said. “It”™s about finding places where we can cluster companies together and plug them into surrounding academia, health care, financial capital and quality of life resources within a zone of innovation. At Robert Martin Co., we are successfully repositioning some of our portfolio by tapping into the growing innovation cluster anchored (in part) by New York Medical College and Regeneron.”

Gottlieb said, “We have the space to accommodate graduating companies. Our hope is by investing and repositioning part of our portfolio, we can take those companies from the graduation phase to the next several phases of their development ”¦ to help the next Regeneron or Acorda Therapeutics reach that larger scale.”

BioMed Realty”™s Ardsley Park Campus on Saw Mill River Road, home to Acorda Therapeutics, has up to 70,000 square feet of built lab and office space and 100,000 square feet of shell space available for possession immediately.

Supporting the next generation
The Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator continues to provide entrepreneurship education and regional networking to seed-stage ventures to build their teams and secure funds. Twelve new startups were selected for the second cohort and began their participation in the program on Jan. 14th. And, the next cohort of Element 46, the county”™s incubator network, will prioritize applications from the biosciences industry.

Deborah Novick is the director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the Westchester County Office of Economic Development. For more information, visit westchestercatalyst.com.