An old factory building in Harlem will soon house start-up biotech companies, the New York Daily News reports. The spot, called Harlem Biospace, is the brainchild of Sam Sia, a biomedical engineering professor at Columbia University.
"We're trying to lower the barrier for early stage biospace companies which usually require wet-labs and expensive equipment," Sia tells the Daily News.
Sia adds that many early stage companies leave Manhattan because of its high rents for research space. In addition, the city's Economic Development Corporation is investing $626,000 in Harlem Biospace, which is to open in the fall.