Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> visited a University City<\/a> life sciences incubator on Tuesday to celebrate a new $125 million fund aimed at boosting Pennsylvania\u2019s life sciences industry. <\/p>\n The funding \u2014 approved in the $50.8 billion state budget<\/a> deal reached earlier this month \u2014 will go toward developing new talent pipelines, help offset the cost of clinical trials, and expand access to venture-capital funding.<\/p>\n While Philadelphia has historically trailed<\/a> other metropolitan areas like Boston and San Francisco in attracting life sciences investments \u2014 including in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields \u2014 lawmakers and industry leaders said they hope the new funding will help close the gap. The money will be available for projects across the state. <\/p>\n \u201cI think you can feel the momentum building all across our commonwealth in the life sciences space,\u201d said Shapiro, who was joined at the B+labs space by industry leaders and Democratic state lawmakers. \u201cAfter really not being on the field of competition in the life sciences space for years and years and years, Pennsylvania is not just competing again. Pennsylvania is winning.\u201d<\/p>\n The new funding comes as some of the nation\u2019s largest life sciences companies have announced their plans to invest billions in Pennsylvania, an accomplishment touted by Shapiro\u2019s administration. <\/p>\n Johnson & Johnson announced this spring its plans to build a $1 billion <\/a>cell therapy plant in Montgomery County<\/a>. And pharmaceutical giant Lilly is expected to break ground on a $3.5 billion<\/a> manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley, set to be fully operational in 2031. <\/p>\n Shapiro on Tuesday noted Pennsylvania\u2019s potential to be a national hub for the life sciences industry, given the state\u2019s robust research universities, adding that more than 100,000 Pennsylvanians work in the sector.<\/p>\n The $125 million investment is the state\u2019s most significant in almost three decades and is a \u201ctrue differentiator,\u201d said Chris Molineaux, the CEO of the trade group Life Sciences Pennsylvania. Last year, Shapiro called for Harrisburg to invest $30 million in life sciences funding, but the money was not allocated in the final state budget. <\/p>\n Of the nearly 1,000 businesses in his organization, Molineaux said that more than 400 are small startups with fewer than 10 employees, and will benefit from the additional dollars. A vibrant startup landscape in Pennsylvania, he added, means there is plenty of innovation, but also competition for limited funding. <\/p>\n \u201cEntrepreneurialism is alive and well in Pennsylvania,\u201d Molineaux said. \u201cBut it\u2019s also an extremely fragile community that needs the kind of public policy support, the nurturing, and the financial support.\u201d<\/p>\n