Beacon Capital unveiled a new biotech incubator scheme in New York City. Called Beacon Pharma, it will offer seed funding and office, lab and manufacturing space in a city aspiring become the next big biotech hub.
The incubator has $30 million to $50 million up for grabs, but won’t limit it to its handpicked startups—it will also be invested in other companies in the New York and New Jersey area. The investments will range from $30,000 to $1 million per startup. Beacon Pharma will also provide 50,000 square feet of office and lab space in New York and New Jersey, Beacon Capital said.
Beacon Pharma’s seed fund comes from Beacon Capital and its group of families as well as other, undisclosed strategic and life science investors.
“Our goal is to make it affordable for biotech startups of modest financial means. We hope to support the tri-state community of biotech microcap companies,” Beacon Capital said. “Our focus expands into novel and bioequivalent IP in oncology, neurodegenerative and rare diseases therapeutics.”
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New York City kicked off 2018 by outlining a $500 million plan to grow its biotech scene to rival those in cities like Boston and South San Francisco. It includes $100 million earmarked for a life science campus and $300 million in tax incentives to lure investment in its commercial lab space. Another $50 million is set aside for investment in nonprofit research facilities.
The city aims to quadruple the annual investment in biotech and to increase NIH funding by 30%. And it wants to quadruple its R&D space by 2026, a goal that, if met, would result in 4 million square feet of lab space in the city.
And New York may just be Beacon Pharma’s first stop. Beacon is considering bringing similar initiatives to Virginia, Florida and Mexico in the coming year, according to Beacon Capital CEO Nancy Torres Kaufman.