Opinion: Local trade groups must support life sciences in these difficult times
Overview
NewYorkBIO CEO Jennifer Hawks Bland shares with Biospace that state and local trade groups have become essential to sustaining the U.S. life sciences industry as federal funding is cut and delayed and the policy environment shifts. With companies responding by laying off staff, moving operations abroad, or rethinking business models, she writes that local ecosystems are well positioned to connect member companies with the partners, funding, and facilities that are hardest to find in uncertain times.
Bland points to NewYorkBIO’s work as a model, citing its Empire Advantage cost-savings program for early-stage innovators and ongoing coalition-building with peer associations nationwide. She highlights New York Bio Connect—a first-of-its-kind resource hub for funding, news, facilities, jobs, and events within the greater New York health and life sciences ecosystem. By tapping these local networks, she contends, states can keep the U.S. at the center of biomedical innovation.
The Big Picture
At a time when much is uncertain at the federal level, our state’s network of support came together to ensure every researcher, entrepreneur and company has immediate access to the tools that drive growth. The hub is a one-stop shop for funding opportunities, news and reports, facility information, career opportunities, and upcoming events designed to spark collaboration, accelerate innovation and showcase the unmatched strength of New York’s life sciences ecosystem.
-Jennifer Hawks Bland, CEO, NewYorkBIO
