By GREGORY ZELLER //
A whopping nine-digit state investment will spark a groundbreaking Cell and Gene Therapy innovation hub on Long Island.
Albany is anteing up $150 million – including a $50 million stake from the Empire State Development Corp.’s Long Island Investment Fund, earmarked for a massive business-incubator program – to help launch New York BioGenesis Park, a 700,000-square-foot research mecca envisioned as “an end-to-end Cell and Gene Therapy innovation and supply center,” according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
Originally announced in 2023, the park is now set to roll out in multiple phases, with Phase One planned as a 331,000-square foot facility on Northwell Health’s Lake Success campus. That phase is expected to include a Gene and Cell Therapy Tower and a Contract Development Manufacturing Organizations Tower, with “conditional commitments from two (unnamed) anchor tenants” already on the books, the governor’s office said.
Hope Knight: Measured response.
Veteran Garden City-based commercial and residential construction king The Albanese Organization has emerged from a lengthy Request for Proposals process as the lead developer of what’s projected as a $430 million building effort – not just a construction project, according to Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight, but a multifaceted push that will “cement New York’s position at the forefront of cell and gene therapy globally, driving economic growth and scientific advancement in equal measure.”
“[Empire State Development’s] landmark investment not only underscores New York’s commitment to leadership in life sciences, but also catalyzes a transformative shift in our biotechnology landscape,” Knight added.
That transformative shift also includes the $98 million expansion of Buffalo’s Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, another critical component of the statewide Cell and Gene Therapy initiative announced in Hochul’s 2023 State of the State address. All told, Albany is sinking $320 million into what it ultimately calculates as a $620 million statewide Life Science Initiative, designed to establish New York as a national leader in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical-technology development.
The massive investments not only “reaffirm our commitment to leading the future of healthcare and ensuring that the next medical breakthrough happens right here in New York,” according to the governor, but will provide huge long-term economic benefits.
Laboratory assistance: Alongside topflight wet labs (artist-rendered here), BioGenesis Park will include professional incubators and other business-development resources.
“With this groundbreaking hub, New York has the opportunity to stake its claim as the epicenter of Cell and Gene Therapy innovation,” Hochul said Tuesday. “We’re not just advancing medical science – we’re creating a powerhouse that will drive our economy, generate thousands of high-skilled jobs and bring hope to millions facing life-threatening diseases.”
Albanese Organization Chairman Russell Albanese, who noted his development team is “honored and excited to be designated by Empire State Development” as the New York BioGenesis Park project lead, agreed that the sprawling scientific center will prove to be an economic windfall for Long Island and New York State.
“This transformative development will serve as a significant catalyst for advancing cell-therapy research, development, clinical manufacturing and commercialization across the state,” Albanese said. “The hub will also further amplify and expand the economic engine that is the life sciences industry within New York State, and specifically (on) Long Island.”
Russell Albanese: Transformative task.
Cell and Gene Therapy is part of the emerging “personalized medicine” field, which modifies a single patient’s genes to combat disease. The unique approach targets illnesses (including cancers, autoimmune diseases and genetic disorders) at the cellular level, where the potential exists to create more effective, longer-lasting, highly individualized treatments – ostensibly, with fewer side effects than traditional surgeries or broader, one-size-kinda-fits-all pharmaceutical interventions.
In addition to super-stocked, hyper-focused laboratories laser-locked on that high-minded potential, New York BioGenesis Park will also include a topflight business incubator featuring office spaces, shared equipment, stage-appropriate financial guidance from seasoned experts and other resources critical to the development of early-stage life-sciences enterprises.
The park will also be perfectly located for collaboration with the region’s top bioscience institutions, including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Stony Brook University and established Northwell Health facilities, among others.
Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling called it “a game-changer for physician-scientists, researchers and innovative companies,” while CSHL President and CEO Bruce Stillman thanked Hochul and Empire State Development for “pioneering this exciting research expansion.”
“The New York State Cell and Gene Therapy initiative on Long Island will be a most-welcome addition to the region’s biomedical research enterprise,” Stillman said in a statement. “Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory looks forward to partnering with the CGT initiative.”
