Xconomy New York — Vicki Sato, a longtime Boston biotech entrepreneur, laid out a challenge for New York life sciences in 2018. “Stop being an initiative,” she said. “Start being a player.”
Sato, addressing the throng of attendees at Xconomy’s “New York Biotech: The Future Is Now” conference last week, has skin in the game. She’s now co-chairing an advisory council, along with Nobel laureate Harold Varmus, that steers a $500 million New York City government-backed plan to spur biotech progress in New York City (LifeSci NYC). The plan dovetails with a $650 million initiative to similarly advance the prospects of New York biotech statewide. It’s all part of a concerted effort to put New York in the same breath as biotech hubs in Boston and San Francisco—but there is still a long road ahead before that is a reality.
