By Maddie Clair

This summer, our team had the opportunity to sit down with Yasmeen Ahmed Pattie, a longtime member of the New York life science ecosystem, founder and principal of East Egg Project Management, and author of a monthly life science newsletter with 1500+ subscribers, for a conversation about the growth and culture of collaboration within New York’s life science industry. 

New York’s life science industry has evolved significantly over the past 20 years, emerging as a key player among the leading hubs across the country. What has been your experience with New York’s life science industry over the course of your career, and how have you seen this evolution firsthand? 

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve been part of New York’s life science sector, at least on the commercial side, since its inception. I’ve seen the industry here evolve from the ground up. 

I moved back home to New York in the early 2000s to join the real estate arm of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). At the time, post 9/11, NYCEDC and Mayor Bloomberg were focused on diversifying New York’s economy, and they saw an opportunity to leverage New York’s robust academic, research, and medical communities to build a life science hub that would attract companies to New York. We knew that we needed more commercial biotech space for that vision to be successful, and addressing that need has been a driving force throughout my career. 

Fast forward to 2024, and we have state-of-the-art spaces like the Genome Center where innovation is thriving. We’re seeing both home-bred and international companies choose New York as the place they want to plant roots, and we’ve been pretty successful in keeping them here as they grow to address disease and other global issues like climate change. Our community is strong and diverse, with a unique culture of working together for the betterment of the industry as a whole. I’m excited to see how that diversity of background, of thinking, or approaches will make our industry even stronger into the future. 

You mentioned that your passion for spurring the industry forward through commercial development has been a driving force throughout your career. How do you leverage your current role in shaping the future of life sciences across the state?

I have a unique lens – I’m not a scientist, I’m not an architect, I’m not a venture capitalist, but I use the skills I do have to contribute to the development of New York’s life science industry in meaningful ways. Today, I focus on helping New York’s promising startups navigate the road to finding and building a physical space where their companies can thrive. 

This includes guiding companies in securing needed resources and incentives to ensure their continued growth, like tax credits, grants, loans, and other opportunities available through the city and state governments. New York’s life science industry has been spurred by intentional investment at the city and state level, and oftentimes companies need assistance in tapping into these programs. 

My work also includes collaborating with and advising developers, counties, cities, and economic development agencies around how best to support or create life science hubs necessary to encourage innovation – whether it’s a single building or even a whole innovation district. New York differentiates itself from other regions due to its success in launching multiple hubs across New York City and New York State, rather than being clustered together in one single area – which works to our advantage. 

Beyond this (paid) work, I’m also a connector for New York’s life science community. Our industry continues to thrive due to the continued, thoughtful collaboration between companies, innovators, state agencies, and vendors who are united by the same goal to spur New York forward. I love making introductions within our community because we all share the same mission. [Editors’ note: Yasmeen is the author of New York’s highly read newsletter of life science industry happenings. You can sign up here.] 

Are there any other key differentiators you see for New York compared to other markets? 

When I meet people from other markets, they often remark on the togetherness, friendliness, and openness of the New York life sciences market. As a born and bred New Yorker, I am keenly aware that “friendly” is not something New Yorkers generally hear as our key characteristic, but there is an inherent understanding in our little life science community that, even after 20 years, our industry is still emerging. That mindset is constructive in many ways because we don’t take any part of our continued success for granted. We want to be collaborative and supportive of our peers, our colleagues, and even our competitors because, you know, rising tide and all that. The way I see it, New York is absolutely the “center of the universe.” Its role as the financial hub of the world, among other distinctions, is driving more and more companies to choose New York to live in and grow in. 

When you think about the future of the life science industry in New York, what are you most excited about? 

Honestly, I am most excited about the breakthroughs that are on the horizon for diseases that patients and medical professionals have been looking to solve for years. The forward-looking vision I am hearing from people across our industry, and especially younger founders and scientists that are just starting out, makes me feel optimistic about the positive impact our industry will have on the lives of patients around the world. I look forward to witnessing this impact as New York continues to thrive throughout the next 20 years.