Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city will invest another $500 million into the life sciences industry, doubling down on its initial investment back in 2016.
The combined billion-dollar bet is part of de Blasio’s plan to make New York City the public health capital of the world. The original investment helped create labs at academic institutions, funded paid internships, and created over 2 million square feet of new life science space. The additional investment will help to spur on that growth.
De Blasio likened the investments into the life sciences industry to how the five boroughs grew its tech industry.
“We need to build up life sciences, this is the future,” said de Blasio. “This is what’s going to make New York city great going forward.”
De Blasio says the investments into life sciences will allow for the space and opportunity to create innovations for the future. He frequently mentioned the city’s effort during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, as evidence that the life sciences industry is crucial to the city’s growth and future.
“We have the talent base, we have the hospitals, the universities, we have the ability to do the research that could blow away the capacity of any other part of the country,” said de Blasio.
The expanded initiative is expected to create 40,000 jobs. The city will provide up to $112 million in capital to award $20 million to support one or more innovation projects.
Multiple awardees can access up to $20 million each.
“We’re going to create a lot of space and invest in equipment to do research,” said Rachel Loeb, president of the Economic Development Corporation of New York City. “In addition to therapeutics and medicines, we’re investing in new areas so that we become a global leader in health tech, biomedicine, and medical devices.
