Westchester County Office of Economic Development Hosts Life Sciences Showcase

Home to 200+ ventures and 20% of New York State’s private life sciences employment, Westchester County is where life sciences work

On May 1, 2024, the Westchester County Office of Economic Development hosted an exclusive Life Sciences Showcase featuring nearly 20 ventures, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are leading industry innovation in Westchester County and beyond.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “Westchester County’s life sciences ecosystem is comprised of enterprising startups, first-class research institutions, medical device developers, and much more. We are proud of the vibrancy and diversity of our life sciences ecosystem, and welcome the opportunity to share our assets with the community.”

Westchester County Director of Economic Development Bridget Gibbons said: “More than 200 entities and 20 percent of the state’s life sciences private sector workforce are employed here in Westchester County. From groundbreaking research and breakthrough clinical trials to novel treatments and first-of-their kind medical devices, Westchester is at the forefront of life sciences innovation. Events like these are opportunities to showcase the many facets of what is happening in Westchester County’s ecosystem while strengthening connections within our local industry.”

Westchester County Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Deborah Novick said: “Westchester County’s highly skilled workforce, outstanding lifestyle amenities, and proximity to New York City make it an ideal place for life sciences companies to do business. As we heard from our Showcase speakers, startups, mid-sized companies and large, national life sciences firms are all having success here.”

Guests kicked off the day with a visit to Regeneron followed by a series of panel presentations including spotlights on the local life sciences ecosystem, Alzheimer’s treatments, health equity in clinical trials, cell and gene therapy, and medical devices. The day’s events concluded with a networking reception at Kanopi in White Plains.

Featured organizations and speakers included:

Regeneron: Spotlight on STEM Education and Health Equity

• Potoula Stavropoulos, Senior Director, Social Impact, Regeneron
• Lyndon J. Mitnaul, Executive Director, Research Initiatives, Regeneron Genetics Center
• Alex Lopez, Director, Sequencing and Lab Operations

Spotlight on Westchester’s Life Sciences Ecosystem

• Ecosystem Overview Deborah Novick, Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Westchester County Office of Economic Development
• Intro to the Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator Mary Howard, Program Director, Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator
• Intro to BioInc Paola Salazar, Coordinator, BioInc@NYMC
• On The North80 Wendy Nadel, Senior Strategy Advisor, Fareri Associates

Spotlight on Alzheimer’s

• Lisa Ricciardi, CEO, Cognition Therapeutics
• James Moe, Ph.D., MBA, President and CEO, Co-Founder, Director, Principal Investigator, Oligomerix
• Rajiv R. Ratan, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Burke Neurological Institute (moderator)

Spotlight on Health Equity in Clinical Trials

• Deborah Viola, Ph.D., Vice President, Office of Research and Grants Administration, Westchester Medical Center Health Network
• Linda Malek, Partner and CHS Managing Director, Crowell & Moring LLP
• Mary Howard, Program Director, Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator (moderator)

Spotlight on Cell and Gene Therapy

• Mitchell Cairo, Ph.D., Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College
• Karina Yazdanbakhsh, Ph.D., Vice President and Director of Research, LFKRI, and Head, Laboratory of Complement Biology, New York Blood Center Enterprises
• Larry Luchsinger, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, New York Blood Center Enterprises
• Lore Gruenbaum, Ph.D., Vice President, Therapy Acceleration Program, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (moderator)

Spotlight on Medical Devices

• Jeannette R. Mahoney, Founder and President of JET Worldwide Enterprises Inc., Developer of CatchU
• Katya Sverdlov, CFA, Esq., CEO and Co-Founder, Jelika Lite
• Nicolas Chbat, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Quadrus Medical Technologies
• Arthur Klausner, Executive Chairman, Concarlo Therapeutics (moderator)

To learn more about Westchester County’s excellence in life sciences, visit: https://westchestercatalyst.com/work/life-sciences/.

About The Westchester County Office of Economic Development

The Westchester County Office of Economic Development works to improve the County’s economic well-being and quality of life. This includes a broad range of activities to attract, create and retain jobs, and to foster a resilient, pro-growth and inclusive economy. For information, visit https://westchestercatalyst.com/.