New York state expands its life sciences cluster

Written 16.08.2005 16:32 by Esther Russell Print Send article

New York’s Center of Excellence program and other high-tech initiatives are helping to finance the expansion of the biotechnology company OSI Pharmaceutical on Long Island.

OSI Pharmaceuticals is undertaking a $20 million headquarters expansion project that shall add 250 professional jobs during the next three years to its current work force of 160 employees in New York state.

OSI is acquiring the former headquarters of Swiss Air and plans to use the 60,000 square foot building as its new corporate headquarters. The company shall continue its research operations at SUNY Farmingdale.

New York’s Centers of Excellence program and other high-tech initiatives helped finance the expansion. In the late 1990s, New York state provided about $15 million to build facilities for OSI at SUNY Farmingdale. That investment allowed the company to remain on Long Island.

Colin Goddard, CEO of OSI Pharmaceuticals, said he expects to have significant future growth on the Long Island cluster.

New York City is investing to ensure a solid foundation for growth in the life sciences industry cluster.

The city’s Economic Development Corp. is helping to create the East River Science Park (ERSP), a bioscience research and development campus, expected to be a prime location for companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, research and medical device fields.

ERSP is poised to become a cutting-edge facility which shall capitalize on its proximity to many prestigious health care institutions, including Rockefeller, Beth Israel, Weill Cornell, Mount Sinai, Memorial Sloan Kettering and NYU.

The project shall encompass more than 870,000 square feet of scientific research and development, office and small-scale retail space and shall create an estimated 2,000 permanent jobs and 6,000 construction jobs during the next decade.

New York state is committed to developing a biotechnology cluster. Since 1995, the state has supported the investment of more than $1 billion in technology, research laboratories and academic centres.

Source: TMCnet news