While new biotech breakthroughs are made all over the world, it's generally held that the biotech world has two major hubs - California and Massachusetts. When it comes to other cities, the question is often about which of the many emerging life science hubs will become biotech's "Third Coast".

For this article, LSN has put together a table comparing two of the challengers; Toronto on the coast of Lake Ontario, and NYC on the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

	Toronto	New York City
Research institutions	Toronto's Discovery District is said to be "the densest geographical center for research in the world".  Home to top universities including University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University, and medical centers such as University Health Network's five medical research institutions.	NYC is home to many major universities and medical research institutions, including Columbia University, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Cornell University/Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Rockefeller University, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Pharma presence	50 global pharma firms have a Toronto HQ.  Toronto is at the center of the "Ontario-Quebec life science corridor," with access to the many pharma companies that have operations in Montreal.	Celgene, Cellectis, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Roche have research centers in NYC.  Additionally, NYC benefits from proximity to the New Jersey pharma hub.
Local investors	The LSN Investor Platform tracks 61 life science investors based in Canada.	The LSN Investor Platform tracks 184 life science investors based in NY.
Government support	$30 million Life Sciences Seed Venture Capital Fund. Additional government support includes SR&ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) tax credits, and a strong set of framework policies, including intellectual property changes through the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)	The NYC Life Sciences Fund will deploy a minimum of $150 million and seeks to launch 15 to 20 breakthrough ventures by 2020. Additionally, NYC has allocated $100 million to create a biotech hub, and $300M in tax incentives.
Startup companies	The LSN Company Platform tracks 71 biotech and 177 medtech startups in Ontario.	The LSN Company Platform tracks 98 biotech and 40 medtech startups in New York State.

A rising number of investors and business delegations from the Asia Pacific region are traveling around the world in search for healthcare innovations. The RESI conference team is pleased to invite a panel of Asia Pacific investors to discuss their investment strategies.

Asia Pacific Investors come in different shape and forms. Private funds are searching for exponential return on investment. Pharmaceutical and research organizations look for a strategic fit with their portfolio. Traditional industry corporations look to expand into healthcare.

As major North American hotbeds are getting crowded with foreign investors in recent years, emerging life science hubs such as Toronto have become attractive destinations for their quality startups in a less competitive scene. RESI attendees will have a unique opportunity to meet with these groups face-to-face. The session will feature the following:

• Peng Fu, General Partner, Novatio Ventures (Moderator)
• Jimmy Zhang, Managing Director of Cross-Border Investment, CL Investment Group
• Mark Tang, Managing Director, Good Health Capital
• Andy Li, CEO and President, BioSense Global
• Franklin Jiang, COO & Partner, Quark Venture

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Large corporations, especially in the pharmaceutical/biotech world, play a very important role in anchoring an innovation ecosystem. The most notable activity of these corporations is perhaps their role as an investor in and buyer of innovation, an exit partner; however, attracting and concentrating talent, providing access to resources and experts are also vital elements of a healthy entrepreneurial community that big pharma brings with its presence. Corporate venture funds, which can serve as a vehicle for big pharma to make riskier/earlier investments, continue to find their way into more and more biotech venture rounds every year.

Toronto, looking to ramp up commercialization of its world-class research and put its name on the map as a life science powerhouse, will host the RESI conference for the second time and welcome a panel of Corporate Venture investors. This increasingly important investor class will discuss trends in the space, their current interests and how entrepreneurs can best prepare to pitch to and work with a group like theirs.

Moderated by John Gustofson, Senior Director, Abbvie Ventures, this panel will feature:

• Jeffrey Moore, President, MP Healthcare Venture Management
• Jens Eckstein, President, SR One (GSK)
• Asish Xavier, VP, Venture Investments, Johnson Johnson Innovation
• Todd Brady, Director of Finance, Brace Pharma Capital

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