Cambridge BioStart to help life sciences start-ups
Cambridge BioStart is an initiative of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce High Tech & Science Committee. As the preeminent business organization in Cambridge, the Chamber's objective is to support the business community. The focus of this committee is to enable both high tech and life sciences organizations to build, grow and maintain their businesses. Cambridge BioStart specifically addresses the business needs of the growing number of life sciences start-ups in Cambridge.
The City of Cambridge is an international center of life sciences research and development, with the presence of both large biotechnology and pharma companies and smaller "start-up" entities. Several prominent universities, Harvard and MIT, as well several major research hospitals, are also located within the city limits. The city welcomes biotechnology-based research & development and has a well-developed permitting and oversight mechanism that works with companies to ensure safe and responsible research.
However, at best, the regulatory and permitting process can be daunting for some organizations. As a start-up, they may be lacking a designated "business person," knowledge and the organizational resources to easily acquire, assimilate and submit all of the necessary documentation in a timely manner. Cambridge BioStart will help jumpstart this process.
Cambridge BioStart was launched on Thursday, October 20. At an event for life sciences start-ups hosted by the Cambridge Innovation Center, a guidebook and Web site were unveiled by the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce High Tech & Science Committee. Speakers, including Aram Salzman, CEO of Novobiotic Pharmaceuticals; Sam Lipson, Director of Environmental Health for the City of Cambridge; and Mayor Michael Sullivan, addressed a sold-out group on "Doing Business in Cambridge as a Life Sciences Start-Up" and the benefits of the Cambridge BioStart initiative.
The guidebook is organized by permitting issue and offers an easy place to aggregate, organize and store all forms and resources. It can easily be supplemented with new and updated materials as needed. The Web site is filled with resources and links that help guide organizations through the process and connect them with the agencies and individuals that can respond to their inquiries.
The regulatory landscape is an ever-changing environment, so by no means is the guidebook an exhaustive or permanent list of the permits, certificates and contacts needed for the process. We suggest that it be used as a starting point and that organizations verify all regulations and forms with the appropriate agencies to ensure the latest regulatory needs have been met.
Thanks you to the sponsors of the Cambridge BioStart initiative for their generous support: Burns and Levinson LLP; Cusp Design and Development; Gwathmey, Inc.; and the Staubach Company. Additional thanks to the members of the CCC’s High Tech & Science Committee for their vision and dedication to this project and to Aram Salzman of Novobiotic Pharmaceuticals for his help and inspiration.
The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce hopes to continue to work with start-up entities from birth to help them grow and thrive in Cambridge. Let us know how we can help your organization by e-mailing info@cambridgebiostart.org or calling the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce at (617) 876-4100. Please visit Cambridge BioStart at www.cambridgebiostart.org. |
