The basics:

• NJEDA, RWJBarnabas Health commit up to $10M for NJ Innovation Hub startups investment fund
• Fund targets drug discovery, translational medicine companies at HELIX NJ
• Portal Innovations will manage the fund for startups at New Jersey Innovation Hub
• Investment aims to help startups move discoveries from lab to patient care

The New Jersey Innovation Hub in New Brunswick is getting $10 million for an investment fund that will support life sciences startups based in the recently opened incubator and coworking space.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a commitment of up to $5 million toward the effort during an Aug. 20 special board meeting. According to an announcement that day from NJEDA, RWJBarnabas Health will match that commitment as exclusive healthcare partner to the Portal Innovations-managed investment fund.

The collective investment aims to advance emerging companies focused on drug discovery and translational medicine from the New Jersey Health & Life Science Exchange (HELIX NJ).

The 30,000-square-foot New Jersey Innovation Hub officially launched in July at the state Strategic Innovation Center. The space is split between lab and office space. It features full-service workspaces, wet and dry laboratories, conference facilities, food services and other amenities.

The NJEDA said similar strategic partnerships will help guide startups working at the collaborative space toward the needs of actual patients, thus accelerating the transition from discovery to bedside application.

Translating innovation

“We see this collaboration with the NJEDA and Portal Innovations as a direct expression of Gov. [Mikie] Sherrill’s vision for a more competitive, innovation-driven New Jersey — one where economic growth and improved health outcomes advance hand in hand,” said George Helmy, executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer, RWJBarnabas Health.

“This strategic investment allows us to walk alongside entrepreneurs from their earliest ideas through clinical application, ensuring that life sciences innovation translates into better outcomes for the patients and communities we serve.”

Chicago-based life sciences venture capital firm Portal Innovations powers the New Jersey Innovation Hub. The state-of-the-art space launched with 16 founding members at H-1.

The building at 20 French St. represents the first of HELIX’s three towers. The 1.5 million-square-foot ecosystem developed by New Brunswick Development Corp. also includes Nokia Bell Labs’ new headquarters at H-2. Meanwhile, H-3 will rise 43 stories. That final building will include 265 residential units and Rutgers School of Medicine Student Housing along with Rutgers WINLAB & ESRG research facilities and office space

Along with the state, NJEDA and RWJBarnabas, the public-private partnership behind the New Jersey Innovation Hub also includes Rutgers University, Hackensack Meridian Health, Johnson & Johnson, DEVCO and Middlesex County.

Portal Innovations founder and CEO John Flavin called the up to $10 million commitment a “seminal moment for life sciences innovation in the state.”

Across its national network, Portal has helped support more than 90 startups across areas including medtech, diagnostics and data sciences.

“These funds represent an important commitment to giving New Jersey startups the resources they need to reach their next milestones and build on the momentum already underway in the state’s life sciences ecosystem,” he continued.

BioNJ launched a satellite space at the NJ Innovation Hub this summer. The statewide life sciences association celebrated the “especially encouraging” investment.

“Given BioNJ’s role representing the full life sciences continuum — from startups to global biopharmaceutical companies — and the growing competition from both other states and other countries seeking to capture New Jersey’s biomedical leadership,” commented BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart.