the place where people of all backgrounds come with hopes and dreams of making a better life for themselves – is just recently becoming a life sciences powerhouse, attracting many biotech companies, after a $1 billion public investment in the industry from the City of New York.
This initiative, called LifeSci NYC, will invest $450 million to spur new research, $600 million to construct new labs and incubator spaces, and $20 million to build a pipeline of diverse talent. In doing so, the initiative aims to create 40,000 jobs, unlock 10 million square feet of wet- and dry-lab space, and spur the launch of 1,000 new companies.
Additionally, in 2017, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), which aims to encourage growth in New York City’s five boroughs, launched the LifeSci NYC Internship Program which prepares NYC undergraduate and graduate students for careers in the field, and builds a direct talent pipeline for the life sciences industry.
Needless to say, because of this, there are now several biotech companies making their mark in The Big Apple, each with their own innovative ideas.
So, with everything in place to make New York a major U.S. biotech hub, let’s take a look (in alphabetical order) at five companies in New York looking to make the most of this opportunity.
Table of contents
- Axsome Therapeutics
- Celmatix
- Intra-Cellular Therapies
- Kallyope
- MeiraGTx
- New York: emerging as a leading hub for biotech companies
Axsome Therapeutics
With a focus on CNS conditions that have currently limited treatment options, Axsome Therapeutics is targeting diseases such as depression, Alzheimer’s disease agitation, migraine, narcolepsy, and fibromyalgia.
In Just last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Axsome’s drug Auvelity (dextromethorphan HBr -bupropion HCl), which became the first and only rapid-acting oral medicine approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), with labeling of statistically significant antidepressant efficacy compared to placebo starting at one week. Furthermore, the company also has another approved product in Sunosi (solriamfetol), which it acquired from Jazz Pharmaceuticals in 2022, for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea.
Auvelity, under the investigational name AXS-05, has also received a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease agitation. And, towards the end of last year, it cleared a phase 3 trial for the same indication, after meeting both primary and secondary endpoints, showing it was better than placebo at delaying the time of agitation relapse in patients with Alzheimer’s.