Experts say New Jersey’s life science industry continues to thrive

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New Jersey’s dynamic and growing life science industry continues its growth spurt thanks to a great location, a talented workforce and attractive economic incentives.

Home to 2,200 companies and 12 of the top pharma companies, the Garden State is attracting more and more companies across the life science sub-sectors.

At an ACG NJ monthly breakfast meeting at the Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth on Tuesday, Kathleen Coviello, vice president, Technology and Life Science Investments at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and Debbie Hart, president and CEO of BioNJ, presented attendees with an update on the thriving life science business.

“The life science echo system has grown each and every year, year after year,” said Hart. It’s a vibrant echo system. There is lots of space and lots of support for it.”

Coviello said that NJEDA tells companies that are interested in New Jersey a complete story. “We have so much more to offer than just tax credits and incentives. And topping the list on why we think folks should choose New Jersey for life sciences is the location. That is one of the things that is top of mind when we speak to them.”

Another appealing feature for companies is the diversity of the locations including access to the shore, the mountains, and robust urban areas.

Coviello said that being at the heart of the northeast corridor means having access to New York where there is funding, easy access to Philadelphia, Washington D.C. where the National Institutes for Health, the Food & Drug Administration and regulators are located.

Because so many new international companies who conduct clinical trials in Europe are locating to New Jersey, access to Newark Airport that has a multitude of flights to many countries is a big asset.

BioNJ’s Hart said that New Jersey is attracting large companies, small companies and contract research organizations because the state has top tier attorneys, accountants, banks, real estate people, everything that the industry needs to grow.

“We have tremendous government partners and academic institutions, pharmacy companies and a growing number of medical device companies and health care IT companies,” said Hart.

“A variety of life science companies are investing in the state whether it is bringing money, jobs, people and taking up some of the space that’s here which we have so much of. It is pretty significant the growth that we are seeing in this sector in the state,” said Hart.

Hart noted that there has been a real paradigm shift in New Jersey.

“What used to be large one-entity corporate campuses are now multi-tenant facilities that are bustling with innovation. We have a lot of young, mid-stage and large companies and the collaboration that that brings amongst these companies is pretty amazing.”