New Jersey Center of Excellence Attracting Cutting-Edge Innovators in Science and Technology

Since acquiring the former Sanofi-Aventis headquarters in Bridgewater, N.J., Advance Realty has repositioned the site into New Jersey’s premier research and development campus. A regional hub for innovation and discovery, the New Jersey Center of Excellence boasts an in-place infrastructure that includes state-of-the-art lab facilities, redundant utilities and cutting-edge communications capabilities. These features ensure business continuity necessary for success in sectors such as electronics, bio-pharma, food and nutrition, chemical, and cosmetics.

There are currently several single- and multi-tenant spaces available for lease on the 800,000-square-foot campus. All spaces offer flexible configurations with a minimum division of 2,500 square feet. In addition to the space currently available, the New Jersey Center of Excellence offers 400,000 square feet for build-to-suit purposes. Tenants also benefit from the complex’s premium amenity package, which includes a full-service cafeteria, a fitness center, conference facilities, back-up generators and 24/7 security.

“We’re at the start of a new paradigm, where innovative companies of all sizes can have access to world-class space in order to develop products that will shape the way we live in the future,” said Peter J. Cocoziello, President and Chief Executive Officer of Advance Realty. “Companies operating at the New Jersey Center of Excellence, whether start-ups or established companies, are able to benefit from an in-place infrastructure for scientific discovery that is rarely found away from a university setting.”

Perhaps most noteworthy is the campus’ proposed “town center.” The planned development of onsite hotel, retail, restaurants, multifamily and entertainment components will result in a dynamic ‘live-work-play’ environment for employees and will attract top-quality talent to this unique community.

“Today’s worker is seeking a type of work/life balance that requires developers to think differently,” Cocoziello said. “The vision we’re working toward involves creating a bustling, highly amenitized, 21st-century ‘company town’ in one of New Jersey’s most bucolic settings and also one of the world’s historically great corridors of innovation — Central New Jersey.”

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Wisconsin: A Bioscience Powerhouse

Companies or individuals looking to make the next great discovery in bioscience are setting their sights on Wisconsin. Anchored by such renowned research institutions as the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marshfield Clinic, the state has a strong, diverse bioscience cluster that is advancing health and improving lives worldwide.

According to the 2014 Battelle/BIO Report, there are 1,391 bioscience business establishments in Wisconsin that employ nearly 32,000 private sector individuals. The report notes that the state’s bioscience industry grew by 8.2 percent from 2007-2012. Additional resources such as the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and BioForward provide a supportive environment that not only promotes the industry, but also helps companies commercialize their research breakthroughs. As a result, bioscience is booming in Wisconsin, and companies operating here benefit from a long tradition of innovation.

Creating a “Culture of Discovery”

Wisconsin’s “culture of discovery” is especially strong in its capital city. The 2014 Battelle/BIO Report states that out of the 381 metro areas in the U.S., Madison ranks in the top nine when it comes to specialized employment concentration in bioscience. The city also ranked fourth in the nation for job concentration in the drug and pharmaceuticals subsector, with nearly 2,000 workers employed in that field in 2012. Additionally, the city ranked eighth nationwide in job concentration in medical devices and equipment, a field that employs about 2,000 people in the region, as well with an employment concentration that is 50 percent higher than the national average.

Madison is also home to one of the top research institutions in the nation, UW-Madison, which devotes $1.2 billion each year to academic research, with 70 percent directed toward bioscience. In addition to UW-Madison, Wisconsin offers a top-tier university system that produces graduates who are passionate about the bioscience industry and ready to devote their talents to the demands of the jobs that await them. This talented workforce helps the state’s top bioscience companies, such as GE Healthcare and Promega, as well as innovative startups like Lucigen Corp. and Isomark LLC, tackle new challenges to continue pushing the boundaries of bioscience discoveries throughout the state.

Talented Workforce Yields Breakthrough Technologies

Exact Sciences, a molecular diagnostics company, has taken advantage of Wisconsin’s strong bioscience industry and access to top universities for talent recruitment in order to continue innovating and finding new ways of advancing the industry.

 “We have a strong culture of innovation,” Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy said. “It’s taking a look at problems that people thought weren’t solvable and solving them.”

The company has proven time and again their ability to solve the previously unsolvable problems facing the industry. After relocating to Wisconsin in 2009, Exact Sciences pioneered a non-invasive colon cancer test which has been proven to detect 92 percent of cancers in average-risk patients. In just five short years, the company grew from a two-person startup to a team of more than 400 employees, and will soon break ground on a brand-new facility to house their growing staff—the number of employees is expected to reach more than 800 by the end of 2015.

Phillips-Medisize, a manufacturer of medical devices and diagnostics also continues to invest and expand in Wisconsin, drawing upon the state’s high caliber workforce.

“We hire anywhere from 10 to 20 graduates per year from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and they’re able to give us the types of people that we need that are committed, hard-working, knowledgeable and familiar with our business,” said Phillips-Medisize CEO Matt Jennings.

Aiding Alzheimer’s Research and Development

In addition to cancer-related research and discovery, Wisconsin is helping develop solutions to assist individuals who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health recently partnered with the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases to collaborate on research efforts to treat people already diagnosed with diseases such as Alzheimer’s, as well as those with an increased risk of developing these diseases.

The research teams will work on a number of projects that include developing new therapies to slow the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia, identifying new biomarkers to aid early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease, improving the care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, and more.

Why Wisconsin

With Wisconsin steadily emerging as a bioscience powerhouse, it’s no wonder companies and individuals are looking to the state for their next big discovery. The bioscience business climate in Wisconsin is rich with research and attractive to companies looking to establish, commercialize and grow here. The state’s initiatives and policies are creating an environment that supports the bioscience cluster and commercialize its discoveries. For more information about the state’s growing bioscience industry or to grow your business in Wisconsin, visit inwisconsin.com.