Cold Spring Harbor Lab wins $15 million from NYS for pancreatic cancer research

The state will put $15 million toward a $30 million research center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for pancreatic cancer, a disease that is fatal for most people, Gov. Kathy Hochul told Newsday on Friday.

In a visit to the construction site on the laboratory’s North Shore campus, the governor said researchers’ work could potentially prevent deaths through the development of innovative treatments.

“We’re going to be saving lives here [by] focusing on pancreatic cancer, which right now has a 10% survival rate,” Hochul said. “When people get that diagnosis, they don’t have a lot of hope.”

For years, the lab’s researchers have collaborated with other medical institutions, such as Northwell Health, on therapies and diagnostics for pancreatic cancer that could improve a patient’s prognosis.

The lab also receives support from the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research in Woodbury, which was started after Marc Lustgarten, a vice chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp., died from the disease. The family of Newsday owner Patrick Dolan helped to establish the foundation.

Hochul said Friday the new Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence at CSHL would bridge the gap between research and clinical applications, which could lead to the development of drugs as well as new companies.

“The research being done here, [and state] investments coupled with [private-sector] philanthropy, is what makes a difference,” she said in an interview. “Keeping people alive because of the research done here. That’s all I need to know. That’s money well spent.”

Bruce Stillman, CSHL’s CEO and president, predicted the pancreatic cancer center would create 25 jobs and attract scientists to Long Island. The latter group would establish two to four businesses per year — and the businesses would create more than 100 careers in science locally, he said.

Stillman said CSHL researchers just finished a clinical trial for a new pancreatic cancer drug. The goal is to help physicians “treat patients with pancreatic cancer, which is one of the most lethal cancers that exists,” he said.

The pancreatic research center is part of a $500 million expansion project at CSHL that includes other facilities under construction and plans to hire 150 additional scientists. The state has so far committed $70 million, which has led to $280 million from the private sector, according to Stillman.

Marilyn Simons, a longtime contributor to CSHL and its board chair, said the state funding “is a catalyst to mobilize private resources.”

She also said Friday’s announcement was poignant because her late father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 75. He underwent “an exploratory operation” which led him to live another 14 years, she said.

“Few people are so lucky,” said Simons, who started the Simons Foundation with her husband, James, who also founded the East Setauket-based investment firm Renaissance Technologies.

“We have wonderful scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and we want to get breakthroughs that will change that whole diagnosis for so many other people,” she said.

The $15 million grant to CSHL comes from Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency.

ESD chairman Kevin Law said the grant is one of many to local institutions, such as Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University, that form a “research corridor” capable of creating hundreds of jobs and businesses.

The state’s investments “are attracting private money and that’s leading these institutions to create jobs and economic activity,” he said.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.