New York City on Track to Become Major Biotech Hub

In two announcements published yesterday in the NY Times, a total of nearly $800 million will be invested in biotech research and industry over the next two years to make New York City "one of the nation's primary bioscience clusters," according to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a California-based real estate investment trust that specializes in medical facilities, agreed to build a $700 million biotech complex on the East Side of Manhattan between 28th and 29th Streets (pictured right). Construction will begin in 2006 with occupancy slated for 2008. Separately, Dr. Jan T. Vilcek, a professor and researcher in microbiology at the NYU School of Medicine who made a fortune with the drug Remicade, used to treat Crohn's disease, announced a donation of $105 million to his home institution at NYU. The funds will go toward supporting microbial research and will be used to recruit scientists, upgrade laboratories, and support the ear, nose, and throat department of the medical school. "We know that biotechs tend to cluster around great academic institutions, so why not New York?" said Harold Varmus, president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering, to the NY Times in reference to the Alexandria deal. "I hope this will change the city's image, and make people feel this is a place where biotech is and wants to be."