Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Governor David A. Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Eli Lilly and Company CEO Dr. John C. Lechleiter and Alexandria Real Estate Equities CEO Joel S. Marcus today announced ImClone will locate its research headquarters at New York City’s new Alexandria Center for Science and Technology at the East River Science Park. ImClone, a global biopharmaceutical subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, will be the anchor tenant for the new state-of-the-art commercial bioscience complex on Manhattan’s East Side, initially bringing 125 scientists with plans to expand. Growing New York City’s commercial bioscience industry is a central goal of the Bloomberg Administration’s economic diversification strategy to spur entrepreneurship and promote high-growth industries in which New York City has competitive advantages. Joining the Mayor at the event, which took place at the site of the bioscience complex, were Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Council Members Daniel R. Garodnick and Jessica Lappin, New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky, Empire State Development Corporation CEO-designate Dennis M. Mullen, ImClone Senior Vice President of Research Dr. Larry Witte, and Maria Gotsch, CEO of the New York City Investment Fund, the economic development arm of the Partnership for New York City.

“New York City has always been at the forefront of scientific innovation, but the City never fully capitalized on its assets to create a thriving commercial bioscience industry and the jobs that come with it,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We joined with Alexandria Real Estate Equities to create the East River Science Park to provide today’s bioscience companies with the state-of-the-art commercial lab space they need to locate and expand. ImClone’s decision to become its anchor tenant is evidence that our work is paying off. It also serves as a major boost to our efforts to diversify New York City’s economy. In recent months, we’ve announced initiatives to promote entrepreneurship, develop green jobs, support nonprofits, grow the media industry and add industrial jobs. Today’s announcement strengthens our belief that bioscience is another industry in which the City can and will succeed.”

Eli Lilly and Company today signed a long-term lease to occupy more than 90,000 square feet at East River Science Park’s first tower, expected to be complete in Summer 2010. The 3.7-acre site – between First Avenue and the FDR Drive and bounded on the south by East 28th Street and on the north by East 30th Street – was until recently an underutilized parcel of City-owned land on the Bellevue Hospital campus, just north of Bellevue Hospital Center and adjacent to New York University Medical Center. When fully built out, the complex will hold up to 1.1 million square feet of research and development space and provide space for 2,000 bioscience-related jobs. The complex is located within an area to be designated as an Empire Zone, which will allow ImClone and other tenants to qualify for a variety of State tax incentives based on investment, job retention and employment growth.

“The growing number of biotech and pharmaceutical companies in New York speaks to the extraordinary academic medical research and health care assets available across the state,” said Governor Paterson. “No other sector of economic development holds as much promise for job growth as innovation. That is why today's announcement is such a critical step forward. For every job created in the innovation sector, 3.5 additional jobs are created in the overall economy.  Scientific research is a core component in our goal to make New York a global leader in New Economy. We are providing an economic boost by invigorating New York’s biotechnology industry. Through the collaborative efforts of the State and City we are not only saving invaluable jobs but helping ensure that ImClone continues its important mission of developing treatments for cancer patients. I have no doubt that today’s announcement is only the beginning and that we will continue to foster the growth of emerging biotech businesses, positioning our great state for the years to come.”

“Today’s announcement reaffirms that New York City and State have global standing as a center for bioscience advancement,” said Speaker Silver. “This initiative will create thousands of jobs for New Yorkers, and encourage economic growth as a result of the innovations resulting from the research in our world-renowned academic medical institutions.”

“The bio-tech industry is an untapped resource in New York City,” said Speaker Quinn.  “Getting companies like ImClone to anchor the East River Science Park proves that we have all the ingredients for success. The Council’s Bio-tech Tax credit, which was recently passed by the Legislature, will help get emerging firms off the ground, and with a little bit of luck, create the next ImClone.  It’ll go along way in creating jobs during this tough economy.”

“This is day one of the next generation of cutting-edge medical research,” said Council Member Garodnick. “At such a critical moment for our local economy and for the future of health care in America, New York City is now poised to become a world-class center for bioscience technology and to enjoy the benefits across so many industries that will come with it.”

“New York City has the resources to make it a natural home for the emerging bioscience industry – a point that Eli Lilly and Company clearly see,” said Council Member Lappin. “We must do everything we can to continue to draw more bioscience leaders to our city.  Supporting the biotech industry will not only boost our economy, but it could also help us find the vaccine for AIDS or the cure for Parkinson's or the cure for cancer.”

“Our new location in New York City, with unprecedented access to academic research organizations, the latest research tools and our FIPNet (Fully Integrated Pharmaceutical Network) partners, will help us speed innovative medicines to patients,” said Eli Lilly and Company CEO John Lechleiter. “However, to protect this innovation, we are going to need health care reform that encourages innovation and in turn leads to breakthrough, life-saving medicines for patients. In this case, patients battling cancer are the focus.”

“We are honored that Eli Lilly and Company has chosen the Alexandria Center for Science and Technology at the East River Science Park to base translational research and development operations,” said Alexandria Real Estate Equities CEO Joel S. Marcus. “The Alexandria Center brings together all of the elements necessary for a successful cluster market, including preeminent medical institutions, advanced life science technologies, rich scientific talent pool and access to the global financial markets, to provide life science entities the opportunity to pursue important medical breakthroughs to improve the human condition.”

“The development of the East River Science Park is a major element of the Administration’s ‘DiverseCity’ initiative, which seeks to expand New York’s economic base,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Pinsky. “By entering into its anchor lease at the facility, Eli Lilly and Company is casting a strong vote of support for the City’s efforts generally and in bioscience, in particular. We are confident that this is just the first of many positive announcements that will come out of East River Science Park, pointing to a more vibrant future not just for the City’s economy, but, through the discoveries that no-doubt will emerge from this campus, for the health and well-being of the world.”

“Today's announcement is testament to the success of the State and City’s major initiatives to expand high technology and biotechnology business in New York,” said Empire State Development Corporation CEO-designate Mullen. “We are pleased that through the joint efforts of the State and City we have been able to ensure that Imclone Systems retains more than a hundred jobs and continues to grow in New York City, while continuing its important mission of developing treatments for cancer patients. With the announcement of Imclone as the first tenant for The East River Science Park New York City is poised to establish itself as a major center for the growing life sciences and biotech sectors.”

“Eli Lilly and Company’s decision to anchor the East River Science Park is a critical step toward establishing a world class biotech industry cluster that ultimately will employ tens of thousands of New Yorkers,” said New York City Investment Fund CEO Maria Gotsch. “The City finally will have the facilities necessary to provide a home for new and growing companies that are born in our great research universities, but have previously gone to other regions to find appropriate lab space.”

The City of New York is providing about $13.4 million in capital funds for the construction of East River Science Park. The State of New York is providing $27 million to be used for infrastructure work in connection with the project, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is contributing $500,000 to the project.  Additionally, the New York City Investment Fund, the economic development arm of the Partnership for New York City, is providing $15 million in funding to be used for tenant improvements. About $2 million in additional Federal funds have also been secured for the project.

The State Legislature recently passed a bill allowing the City to create a $3 million bio-tech tax credit.  First announced in Speaker Quinn’s State of the City Address, the credit would help a young firm equip a lab, train technicians and fund access to high tech equipment.  The credit is limited to small firms engaged in research and development that meet New York State standards as qualified emerging technology companies.

New York City has unparalleled resources that make it the ideal location for bioscience business, including access to the largest concentration of academic medical institutions, a metro area having the largest concentration of bioscience employees in the country, two bioscience incubator facilities, proximity to business leaders, an investment community that includes more than 100 venture capital firms investing in healthcare and now, a network of  state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate commercial bioscience businesses and related research activities. The City is a partner in the New York City Bioscience Initiative, a public-private partnership including New York City Economic Development Corporation and Partnership for New York City.  For more information about the New York City Bioscience Initiative, visit www.nycbiotech.org.

The Bloomberg Administration’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan is a comprehensive strategy to bring New York City through the current economic downturn as fast as possible. It focuses on three major areas: creating jobs for New Yorkers today, implementing a long-term vision for growing the city’s economy, and building affordable, attractive neighborhoods in every borough. Taken together, the initiatives that the City has launched to achieve these goals will generate thousands of jobs and put New York City on a path to economic recovery and growth. To learn more about the plan, visit nyc.gov.

Recent announcements to diversify the economy include:

• A plan to create 11,000 permanent industrial jobs on Brooklyn’s working waterfront.
• Eight initiatives to strengthen the media industry in New York City.
• New initiatives to help support Hispanic-owned small businesses.
• The opening of China Construction Bank’s New York City office.
• New international cruise activity, growing New York City’s 13,000-job cruise industry.
• Steps to help New York City’s bioscience companies compete for Federal funding.
• Legislation that will green buildings and create 19,000 construction jobs.
• Green projects at the Brooklyn Navy Yard are creating more than 1,700 permanent jobs.
• Comprehensive initiatives to support the nonprofit sector and its 490,000 jobs.
• New programs to provide training and resources for City’s future entrepreneurs.
• 11 new initiatives to support the financial services sector and promote entrepreneurship.

Other Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan announcements include:

• A record 10,500 job placements through the first half of 2009.
• A plan to convert unoccupied apartments and stalled sites into affordable housing.
• The opening of New Mount Hope Community Center in the Bronx.
• The purchase of the Hunter’s Point South site to create a new, affordable neighborhood.
• A public campaign to help more New Yorkers get free foreclosure prevention services.
• The start of services of the Park Slope 5^th Avenue Business Improvement District.
• A stimulus-funded bond program to spur commercial and industrial projects citywide.
• The City will use nearly $32 million to train 10,000 New Yorkers for jobs.
• New space for 20 small businesses in Bushwick, creating more than 80 industrial jobs.
• The citywide “Fashion’s Night Out” event to support retailers in all five boroughs.
• The start to construction of the International Gem Tower, which will house 3,000 jobs.
• City’s Workforce1 Centers in Harlem and Jamaica received awards for innovation.
• Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program to encourage grocery stores.
• City-supported loans unavailable from banks to help small businesses stay in operation.
• Three new Financial Empowerment Centers offering free, one-on-one financial coaching.
• Stimulus funding to help the City provide summer jobs for 51,000 young New Yorkers.
• The opening of New Hope Walton Project, housing for low-income residents in Harlem
• New affordable housing at Gateway Building, a long-vacant structure in the South Bronx.
• The Harlem Business Assistance Fund to help businesses relocate to the 125^th Street area.
• The expansion of NYC Business Express to help businesses obtain permits and licenses.
• The “Nine in ’09” campaign to promote economic activity in diverse neighborhoods.
• A Center for Economic Opportunity program put 4,000 low-income New Yorkers in jobs.
• Stimulus-funded community development projects that will strengthen neighborhoods.
• Stimulus-funded Housing Authority projects that will create jobs for 3,255 New Yorkers.
• The start of construction of 103 units of affordable housing in Brownsville.
• The opening of Home Depot in the South Bronx creating 200 new permanent jobs.
• The latest round of training funds to help small businesses train their employees.
• The placement of 50 laid-off New Yorkers into positions at entrepreneurial companies.
• New York City achieved a record 5,000 job placements through the first quarter of 2009.
• Help for a beer distributor to create 55 permanent and 30 construction jobs in the Bronx.
• Comprehensive initiatives to support the nonprofit sector and its 490,000 jobs.
• Federal stimulus transportation projects that will create or preserve 32,000 jobs.
• Steps the City is taking to help small businesses adapt to conditions and avoid layoffs.
• A plan to create and retain 400,000 jobs over the next six years.