NYC Biotech Tax Credit: Application Due Jan. 17th
Did you know you can receive up to $250,000 in tax incentives for operating in New York City?
The New York City biotech tax credit compensates small biotech companies and qualified investors for certain R&D, training, and expenses incurred in 2011. Eligible firms can receive up to $250,000 per year.
Taxpayers that are qualified emerging technology companies (QETC), engaged in biotechnology and meet the eligibility requirements may claim a fully refundable tax credit for amounts paid or incurred for certain facilities, operations, and employee training.
In order to be considered, the Biotechnology Tax Credit Application must be submitted in duplicate and postmarked on or before January 17, 2012.
To learn more, please view the FAQs.
NYC Advanced NIH SBIR Funding Proposal Workshop
By Julie Chan, Senior Project Manager, Center for Economic Transformation
Are you an academic, businessperson or entrepreneur in NYC’s life sciences and healthcare community? NYCEDC and the New York Academic Consortium will host its next workshop on Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant programs on Thursday, November 17th at the Levin Institute. SBIR and STTR grants are open to a wide range of industries, from life sciences and physical sciences to education and technology. This free workshop will focus on advanced NIH funding opportunities for companies ready to apply for Phase II awards of over $1 million. Attendees will also have a chance to receive one-on-one, personalized assistance from SBIR expert Lisa Kurek on Friday, November 18th. For details on the agenda and featured speakers, visit Small Business Innovative Research on the NYCEDC website or register at nycnihsbir.eventbrite.com.
Thus far, NYCEDC has hosted seven workshops that have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and academic researchers from the tech and bioscience communities learn how to access federal R&D funding available for small businesses. These one-day sessions have focused on funding opportunities from the Department of Defense (DoD) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), guiding attendees through several aspects of proposal development. To learn more, please see our overview of the Small Business Innovation Research Program.
NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky speaks at an SBIR workshop for NYC’s bioscience community.
NYCEDC Holds Eds & Meds CEO Workshop on Proposed Industry Initiatives, October 19th
Session Summary by Chelsea Rao, Julie Chan, Lenzie Harcum, & Kristy Sundjaja
Center for Economic Transformation
New York City’s bioscience enterprises, academic medical centers, non-profit research institutions and healthcare technology companies—also known as “Eds & Meds”—represent a significant asset base from which to develop a broader bioscience cluster. On October 19th, we held the latest in our series of NYC workshops with senior leaders from the life sciences and healthcare sector as part of our Bio (Eds & Meds) NYC 2020 study. Building on a series of interviews, roundtables and workshops launched in May 2011, we proposed initiatives to increase NYC’s competitiveness in the Eds & Meds sector. We were fortunate to have over 20 participants from NYC’s academic medical centers, venture capital firms, and bio/health companies, including Marc Tessier-Lavigne (President, Rockefeller University), Mikael Dolsten (President, Pfizer), Steven M. Paul (Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures and Weill Cornell Medical College) and Todd T. Pietri (Co-Founder, General Partner, Milestone Venture Partners).
Key Findings:
The feedback that we received is critical in learning how the city can best support the Eds & Meds sector:
- The Eds & Meds ecosystem should be separated into two distinct areas: life sciences and technology-enabled healthcare. These two areas are significantly different in terms of, funding needs, infrastructure needs and stakeholders.
- Initiatives should leverage the City’s strengths in academic research, clinical care and information technology. By facilitating the development of a vibrant entrepreneurial culture and supportive environment for early-stage companies, the City can help translate its strengths into robust local commercial activity.
- A venture fund of significant scale would have the most impact on the Eds & Meds sector overall. The fund should leverage private sector funds from both venture capital firms and institutional sources.
- The City should prioritize initiatives capable of having the greatest impact on companies and individuals, such as innovation competitions, fellowship programs for budding entrepreneurs, and shared infrastructure for affordable commercial lab space.
We thank Rockefeller University for hosting the event and Oliver Wyman for their assistance on this project as our knowledge partner. NYCEDC is dedicated to improving the economy of NYC and we remain committed to the Eds & Meds sector as important growth opportunity. In the coming months, we will build on what we learned from this session to further develop and refine initiatives to support the NYC Eds & Meds cluster.
We Welcome Your Feedback:
What are the major challenges and opportunities that you see in NYC’s life science and healthcare sectors? What are your thoughts on City-led initiatives that can strengthen the industry and its stakeholders? Add your voice to the conversation and post your comments below.
Would You Like To Access $2.5 Billion/Year In Funding?
By Lenzie Harcum, Kristy Sundjaja, and Steven Strauss
Center for Economic Transformation
On March 17, 2011, NYCEDC will be hosting a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) workshop. Learn more and register for the workshop.
What is SBIR?
Eleven federal agencies, including the Department of Defense (DoD) and NIH, are obligated to contribute 2.5 percent of their annual R&D budget to fund entrepreneurs and small businesses performing research; this results in about $2.5 billion/year that can be provided to small businesses under this program. This funding is neither a loan nor an investment, but rather, a grant—with no obligation to repay and no dilution of equity.
Key points to know about the program:
- SBIR can be used for just about any industry: life science, physical sciences, information technology, or even education technology.
- Phase I award: typically provides about $100,000 for feasibility studies and proof-of-concept experimentation.
- Phase II awards: If Phase I proves successful, the company may be invited to apply for a Phase II award providing upwards of $1 million over multiple years. Phase II expands upon the initial Phase I results and further develops the concept, usually to the prototype stage. Only Phase I awardees are eligible to participate.
- By the way, a sister program known as Small Business Technology Transfer, or STTR, allows for R&D to be performed in partnership with a University or non-profit research institution.
Are you eligible?
The basic eligibility criteria are:
- The company is of small business concern located in the United States.
- The company is for-profit and employs no more than 500 employees.
- For SBIR, the principal investigator’s (PI) primary employment must be, at least, 51% with the small business during the project. For STTR, the PI may have full-time appointment with a partnering university or institution.
- The company is at least 51% American-owned and independently operated; firms with greater than 50% VC ownership are ineligible.
How do you apply and how do the federal agencies decide on awards?
Federal agencies use the SBIR program to source external brainpower to solve their most intractable problems. Each year, the agencies issue program solicitations describing the technical areas for which they are interested. The solicitations, their release and due dates, and submission instructions are available at each agency website, available at zyn.com. The SBIR proposal is your response as to how you will solve the agency’s problem.
