Gene therapy 'incubator' to be built by 2029 in Lake Success Biogenesis Park, officials say

Northwell Health officials and Gov. Kathy Hochul released new details of plans Tuesday for a $430 million cell and gene therapy research and treatment hub, which doctors say will revolutionize treatment options and research for a range of diseases.

The 700,000-square-foot New York Biogenesis Park, first announced late last year in the governor's budget, now has a developer, the Garden City-based Albanese Organization, and will be built on Northwell’s campus of nearby hospitals in Lake Success. Construction is expected to begin in two years, with completion aimed at 2029, officials said.

The project is expected to create about 830 construction jobs and 700 permanent jobs, including researchers and doctors. The new campus will also host an incubator of therapy developers, funded with $50 million from Empire State Development’s Long Island Investment Fund.

The incubator is designed to draw research and cell and gene therapy companies to work at the hub, where they can develop new clinical trials and potentially lifesaving treatments by manipulating a patient's cells or genes, doctors said.

Hochul and Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling both said New York's contribution is the largest state investment in cell and gene therapy in the world.

"This kind of investment makes New York the leader, and this is an investment in the new field of medicine, research and education," Dowling said. "This is an investment in lifesaving technology that will allow us to do what we have not been able to do up until now."

New York State's contribution is being given through Empire State Development grants. The state previously allocated $25 million to ALS research, Hochul said.

Doctors said the new therapies may help combat cancer and treat other diseases, some now considered incurable, including ALS, sickle cell anemia and Parkinson’s disease.

The therapy calls for genes to be modified to eradicate mutations that trigger diseases. Cells can be grown outside the body, then introduced to patients to attack cancerous cells and tumors, Hochul said.

"This is one of the fastest-growing treatment tools we have to deal with many, many diseases, and it has near unlimited potential when it comes to changing outcomes for people diagnosed with cancer and rare diseases," Hochul said.

Matt Cohen, president of the business group the Long Island Association, said: "This commitment from Governor Hochul, Northwell Health, and the Albanese Organization will have a ripple effect across our entire economy and solidify our region as a global leader in groundbreaking life sciences technologies."

Northwell is partnering with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and is also working with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo and other systems including Stony Brook University so that visiting researchers may use the new facility once it's complete.

"The New York State cell and gene therapy initiative on Long Island will be a most welcome addition to the region’s biomedical research enterprise," Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory President Bruce Stillman said in a statement.

Dr. Kevin Tracey, who serves as president of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell, said the therapy can be used to address cystic fibrosis and hemophilia by using technology to change or repair genes.

Northwell has 1,000 full-time researchers and 7,000 part-time researchers already working on cell and gene therapy, Tracey said.

Researchers can also use stem cells and white blood cells they take out of the body to manipulate them to fight certain cancers, Tracey said. Cells can also be manipulated to produce insulin to treat diabetes, he said.  

"Gene therapy is a brand-new field in medicine and in science, and it involves looking at changes in the actual genetic makeup of the patient or the patient's cells and tissues," Tracey said.

"So by building a campus, a destination where you can bring together the investigators ... the doctors and therapists with the patients," he said. "You can't replace having a whole campus that's surrounded by the hospitals."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.