Listen to this article

The basics:

• Leaders preview HELIX NJ Innovation Hub at New Brunswick event
• Portal Innovation to manage 30K SF of startup incubation space
• BioNJ joins as foundational member of the hub
• Executives highlight collaboration, capital and startup growth

Leaders from across New Jersey’s life sciences and innovation ecosystem gathered April 28 at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center for a fireside chat. DEVCO and Portal Innovations hosted the event, which offered a preview of the HELIX NJ innovation district. More specifically: the New Jersey Innovation Hub that HELIX H-1 will house on the ninth floor when it launches this summer.

The center is part of the broader 1.6 million-square-foot HELIX NJ innovation district designed to bring research, industry and capital together in one place. Portal Innovations will manage roughly 30,000 square feet of incubation space at H-1.

NJBIZ was on-hand for the gathering, which featured remarks from Portal executives, DEVCO and BioNJ leadership, along with a fireside chat with Chris Picariello, president of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC and John Flavin, CEO, Portal Innovations. The discussion centered on how the state is positioning itself to compete with established innovation hubs.

‘Crafted capital’

Sangeetha Ramsagar, executive director of Portal Innovations, emphasized the emerging platform at HELIX goes well beyond traditional lab space.

“Portal works on a philosophy of crafted capital,” she said. “What that means is that they provide not just incubation, but fully equipped incubation space, plus access to capital in the form of direct investment. But also in the form of access to their syndicate of 350-plus investors.”

The model is designed to remove early barriers for founders, she added: “You’re not pounding the pavement — the pavement is there right in front of you.”

Joining the team

As NJBIZ reported earlier April 28, BioNJ joined the NJIH as a foundational member – taking space in the facility in addition to its Trenton presence. The organization officially announced the move during the program.

“This is a milestone moment for BioNJ. And the HELIX is a milestone moment for New Jersey – and for all of us,” said Debbie Hart, president and CEO of BioNJ. “Innovation ecosystems don’t happen overnight. They don’t happen by accident. They don’t just pop up. They’re built intentionally, collaboration by collaboration, company by company, brick by brick.”

Hart added, “We’re excited to work alongside companies shaping the future.”

Harnessing innovation

During the fireside chat, Picariello offered insight into Johnson & Johnson’s approach to innovation and early-stage investment. He noted the company deploys roughly $300 million to $350 million annually into new companies. Its portfolio currently includes about 160 businesses spanning medtech and innovative medicines.

“We like to say that we’re bringing much more than just capital to the table, because even though we have one person that might represent JDC, we have a team behind that individual that brings clinical, scientific, manufacturing, regulatory, commercial know how that you can bring to the young company,” he said.

He also pointed to New Jersey’s underlying strength as an innovation hub — if it can better connect its assets.

“It’s not like we have to tap into something that’s not here in New Jersey, New Brunswick,” Picariello said. “It’s about how do you aggregate all these capabilities and amazing things that are here? We have amazing research hospitals; we have amazing academic institutions; we have amazing capabilities, clinical development perspective, manufacturing capabilities in the state. So, how do you harness that aggregation?

Picariello added, “When you bring these communities together, you get a spark that turns into something bigger – and then you get success, and success breeds success. And then attracts more entrepreneurs.”

‘New Jersey is the easy button’

Flavin echoed that theme, framing HELIX and the Innovation Hub as a catalyst for turning existing strengths into something more cohesive and accessible.

“This audience and the cohesiveness of the New Jersey ecosystem – it’s impressive,” said Flavin. “Every state isn’t like this. That is organized, cohesive, and thinking about it from the perspective of how does an entrepreneur or a company hit the easy button. New Jersey is the easy button.

“There’s other parts – you can peel back the onion on what I mean. If I want to start a company, I might be able to get an accelerator grant. I might be able to turn to EDA [New Jersey Economic Development Authority]. I can work with BioNJ to get discounts for supply. Everything is set up on the continuum,” he continued.

Following the fireside chat, Flavin told NJBIZ that the message to Jersey entrepreneurs and startups is: “We want you here.

“You’re welcome to try and to start. And the beauty of what’s being built is, not only do you have a chance to start on a greater foundation, but all the resources being poured into that continuum – like the conversation with J&J. It takes partners.

“As you go beyond proof of concept, beyond a startup, and you start to scale – you need more money. You need more partners. You need more patients. All that can happen here,” said Flavin. “So, that’s the message: you can do it here.”