TechUnited & Middlesex County: CDMOs that Exist in the County

Middlesex County is home to thriving  Life Sciences and Food Innovation industries, with an emerging industry: autonomous technology. I sat down with Sandy Castor of the Office of Business Engagement to understand more about the businesses growing in this region. 

New Jersey proudly champions the life sciences industry and is globally recognized as the “Medicine Chest of the World” for its world-renowned cluster of life sciences companies. The region’s vibrant life science community – biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology, diagnostic and consumer products companies, the thousands of local businesses in their supply chain and leading research institutes – has made endless contributions to advancing human health and has been a pillar of our state’s economy and communities for 135 years. [1]

Pharmaceutical companies, within the life sciences industry, continually strive towards innovative treatments that help people live longer and healthier lives. The pharmaceutical industry has greatly contributed to the increase in life expectancy. The industry strives to eradicate and eliminate diseases and reduce pain and sufferings through the management of pain. [2] Middlesex County has become home to many support businesses critical in the pharmaceutical industry, like CDMOs. 

What is a CDMO? 

A contract development and manufacturing company (CDMO) is a company within the pharmaceutical industry that provides drug development and manufacturing services. Pharmaceutical companies partner with CDMOs as a way to outsource drug development and drug manufacturing.

How has the OBE helped contract development and manufacturing companies to better connect with their customers?

The Office of Business Engagement has helped CDMOs connect with their customers by serving as the convener and connector. Their office has a unique vantage point, given that their day-to-day responsibilities include fostering relationships with existing businesses and identifying new companies that could complement our current ecosystem. They can then make introductions of those companies to one another, bringing a business connection that may not have otherwise existed.

The OBE is also fostering awareness of the talent in the County and connecting them with their Office of Career Opportunity to aid in the recruitment and/or upskilling of the workforce through the Business Solutions division. They are joining local talent with leaders within our academic institutions, such as Middlesex College and Rutgers University, to cultivate their talent pipeline and graduate their workforce for their future, keeping NJ-honed talent in New Jersey. 

Customers are then being connected with the ideal site where there are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies or institutions within shared industries. The clustering allows for supporting firms that provide components, support services, and raw materials to come together with like-minded firms in related industries to develop joint solutions and combine resources to take advantage of market opportunities. [3]

What is unique about growing your CDMO business in Middlesex County?

Middlesex County is a unique place to grow your CDMO business due to its location, talent and access to funding. 

LOCATION

Middlesex County is home to life science campuses that foster the life science cluster here in Middlesex County. Some of those campuses include:

• NJ Bioscience Center Campus (North Brunswick): 50 acres; Encompasses an incubator, step-out labs, built-to-suit sites, Scientist Square collaboration café. The Bioscience center also has three buildings with sites ranging from +/-40,000 to +/- 200,000 sq ft.
• Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs (Plainsboro) features community spaces and hosts events ranging from social hours to seminars and fireside chats.
• Princeton Forrestal Innovation Center (Plainsboro) is a world class campus, located at the epicenter of technology and education. The complex consists of three, five- story Class A office buildings situated around a large landscaped common area. The campus is part of Princeton University’s Forrestal Center, a 2,200 acre master planned mixed-use community of office, research, retail, hotel, residential and open space. 
• Cedar Brook Corporate Center (Cranbury): 150-acre office and life sciences campus with chemistry and biology lab space for established and emerging companies
• Rutgers Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant (Piscataway) – funded by NIH and industry partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals –  Continuous manufacturing is a method for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from end-to-end on a single, uninterrupted production line resulting in less deviations in production, higher yields, shorter time to market. 

TALENT

• NJ ranked #1 in the nation for public education. 
• Middlesex County Academy is ranked among the Top 10 STEM high schools in the US
• Middlesex County has the most Life Sciences employees of any county in New Jersey (11,300 according to NJDOL)
• 4,848 jobs in Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing in Middlesex County. The national average is 943 (source: Emsi)
• Middlesex County Labor Force Data: 
  • Deep supply of bioengineers and biomedical engineers: 77 employees compared to national average for area of this size of 56 employees. 
  • Deep supply of biochemists and biophysicists: 711 employees compared to national average for area of this size of 101.  
  • Deep supply of chemists: 1,239 employees compared to national average for area of this size of 248. 
• Two top-tier research universities Princeton (in Mercer County) and Rutgers located less than 20 miles apart, creating a Life Science corridor along Route 1 for companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, Genmab, Chromocell.
• #1: Top Business Schools for Healthcare / Pharma / Biotech (Rutgers)
• Located within one of the most diverse counties in the United States, Middlesex College, the second largest of New Jersey’s 18 county colleges, has several new programs currently offered or in development to train the 21st century life sciences workforce (source: Middlesex College)
  • Middlesex College has a biotech curriculum. The College offers an Associate in Science Degree in Biotechnology. Biotechnology – Science Transfer A.S. Degree | Natural Sciences (middlesexcc.edu)
  • Biopharmaceutical Process Technician Credential 
    • A 140-hour training program designed for New Jersey’s biopharmaceutical and biomanufacturing workforce needs
    • The program launches in Winter 2023 and will be an intensive 4-month program that combines hands-on lab instruction and online classes
  • Biotechnology (Associate in Science)
    • Prepares students for entry-level positions in biotechnology/biosciences or transfer for a baccalaureate degree
    • Curriculum includes general biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, genetics, microbiology, cell biology, and molecular biology 
    • Graduates are competent in laboratory techniques and instrumentation for the biotechnology industry
  • Data Science and Analytics (Associate in Science)
    • Curriculum combines computer science and mathematics to provide a rigorous education in the fields of data science and data analytics with emphasis on real-world applications
    • Graduates support industry activities that require data collection and cleansing, data analytics, big data fundamentals, machine learning, and data visualization
  • Process Technology – Biomanufacturing Track (Associate in Applied Science)
    • The industry-driven curriculum in the program prepares graduates with the technical knowledge and skills for positions as safe, efficient, and environmentally-responsible Process Technicians in the pharmaceutical industry
  • Supply Chain and Logistics Management (Associate in Applied Science)
    • Program provides graduates with the knowledge and skills for entry-level positions in operations management, logistics, procurement, transportation, and warehousing

ACCESS TO FUNDING

Federal Funding

• Over 60% of NIH projects and 60% of NIH funding awarded in NJ has gone to organizations located in Congressional Districts 6 & 12, encompassing Middlesex County. 
  • DiamiR (Monmouth Junction) (diagnostics for brain health) $3.9M NIH grant October 2020 

State Funding

• NJ Ignite: Supports entrepreneurs by providing rent support grants to locate in collaborative spaces 
  • There are three spaces within the County approved for rent support meaning entrepreneurs can locate in these spaces and have rent covered for a period, creating a cost-effective solution for them to conduct their R&D in Middlesex County: Rutgers Food Innovation Center, Princeton Innovation Center Biolabs, NJ Bioscience Innovation Center (https://www.njeda.com/activeprograms/)
• Angel Investment Tax Credit Program: Investors who invest in an emerging technology business in NJ may be eligible for a tax credit of 20-25% of their investment 
• Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program: Administered by the NJEDA and NJ Department of the Treasury Division of Taxation. Available to technology and biotechnology companies; allows program participants to sell their New Jersey net operating losses and unused research-and-development (R&D) tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations for cash. The cash can then be used as working capital or to fund research.

VC Funding

• Venture Capital and Private Equity Funding in Middlesex was $1.1B last year in 2020

• In 2020, Middlesex County Life Sciences Companies spent $5.5B on mergers and acquisitions (Pitchbook, Crunchbase Pro)
• Middlesex County companies receiving VC funding:

• Ascendia Pharmaceuticals (North Brunswick) (novel formulations technologies) raised $5M of development capital in April 2021. Ascendia Pharmaceuticals | Products and Novel FormulationAscendia
• PMV Pharma (Cranbury) (precision oncology) closed $70M in Series D financing in 2020. PMV Pharma | Harnessing the Power of p53 to treat Cancer
• Portable EMR Solutions (East Brunswick) (healthcare software) $100,000 in venture funding reported in 2021. Portable EMR Solutions : About | LinkedIn
• Elucida Oncology (Monmouth Junction) (delivery platform for therapeutic treatments in oncology) $43.74M Series A1 venture funding January 2021 Elucida Oncology, Inc.
• Tevogen Bio (Metuchen) (immunotherapy) undisclosed amount of angel funding raised; reported January 2021. Home – Tevogen
• BioAegis Therapeutics (North Brunswick) (treatment of inflammation and infectious disease) raised $7M in investments; announced October 2020. Plasma Gelsolin Protein Replacement Therapy | BioAegis Therapeutics
• Bionex Pharmaceuticals (North Brunswick) (contract R&D services) received $200,000 angel investment in October 2020. Bionex – Home (bionexpharma.com)

How can emerging technology companies leverage your resources?

By calling our office, the Office of Business Engagement (OBE). Our divisions of Life Sciences & Food Innovation, Small Business, Real Estate and Autonomous Technologies stand ready to assist you at all stages of your business development, growth or relocation.  Contact our office today if you are ready to advance your possibilities: biz@co.middlesex.nj.us or (732)745-4343.