North Brunswick, NJ - The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) recently welcomed Sunnylife Pharma Inc. as one of its newest tenants at the Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) in North Brunswick. Founded by a team of former Merck scientists, Sunnylife Pharma Inc. is a contracted research services organization focused on the unmet medical needs of cancer patients, as well as people suffering from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Sunnylife Pharma helps drug-discovery companies worldwide reduce research and development costs by assisting with an array of pre-clinical research chemistry-related services.
“Creating a culture of innovation is a centerpiece of Governor Murphy’s vision for a stronger and fairer economy, and nurturing emerging companies like Sunnylife Pharma is central to executing on that vision,” EDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Sullivan said. “Removing barriers to commercialization and profitability for entrepreneurs with novel ideas will pave the way to strengthen economic opportunity in this high growth sector.”
As New Jersey’s leading life sciences incubator, CCIT’s collaborative environment enables Sunnylife Pharma executives and scientists to network with members of other drug discovery-companies such as Aucta Pharmaceuticals, Quixgen, and Grace Therapeutics, as well as research organization such as Kamat Pharmatech and API Pharma Tech. Like other CCIT tenants, Sunnylife Pharma will have access to offices, conference rooms, support staff, small business development resources and the ability to routinely seek advice from professional firms within the life sciences community.
“I discovered CCIT based on recommendations from several former colleagues and found the staff to be very welcoming and the facilities well-suited to our needs,” Sunnylife Co-Founder and CEO Xibin Liao said. “Furthermore, we find many advantages in CCIT’s location near major cities, universities, and pharmaceutical companies.”
CCIT also offers tenants assistance in finding outside funding sources. For the past two years, representatives from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies have presented to CCIT tenants and other members of New Jersey’s life sciences community about federal funding opportunities.
Sunnylife has repeatedly received funding from NIH to further its research and drug development. Last year, the company participated in NIH’s Innovation-Corps, an invitation-only eight-week entrepreneurial program for teams from biotech companies and other small, medically-focused companies.
@NJEDATech spoke to Liao about his company’s experience in New Jersey and its plans for the future:
Why did you decide to grow Sunny Life Pharma in New Jersey?
New Jersey is an exciting place for biotechnology companies, as it has pioneered the way for many large corporations that have achieved notable success in the field. With many of the world's major biopharmaceutical companies calling New Jersey home, the state is bursting with opportunity for businesses like ours.
What do you consider Sunny Life Pharma’s biggest success to date?
We pride ourselves on our very strong chemistry team, which allows us to provide excellent services for biotechnology companies across the nation. In addition, the quality and speed of our work regularly meets and exceeds our customers' expectations.
What’s on the horizon for Sunny Life Pharma?
We are continually aspiring to improve the scope and quality of our work. This will, in turn, allow us to provide services to even more biopharmaceutical companies.
The EDA offers a multitude of resources to help technology and life sciences grow and thrive in New Jersey. To learn about these resources, visit http://www.njeda.com/tls and follow @NJEDATech on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
As New Jersey’s leading life sciences incubator, CCIT’s collaborative environment enables Sunnylife Pharma executives and scientists to network with members of other drug discovery-companies such as Aucta Pharmaceuticals, Quixgen, and Grace Therapeutics, as well as research organization such as Kamat Pharmatech and API Pharma Tech. Like other CCIT tenants, Sunnylife Pharma will have access to offices, conference rooms, support staff, small business development resources and the ability to routinely seek advice from professional firms within the life sciences community.
“I discovered CCIT based on recommendations from several former colleagues and found the staff to be very welcoming and the facilities well-suited to our needs,” Sunnylife Co-Founder and CEO Xibin Liao said. “Furthermore, we find many advantages in CCIT’s location near major cities, universities, and pharmaceutical companies.”
CCIT also offers tenants assistance in finding outside funding sources. For the past two years, representatives from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies have presented to CCIT tenants and other members of New Jersey’s life sciences community about federal funding opportunities.
Sunnylife has repeatedly received funding from NIH to further its research and drug development. Last year, the company participated in NIH’s Innovation-Corps, an invitation-only eight-week entrepreneurial program for teams from biotech companies and other small, medically-focused companies.
@NJEDATech spoke to Liao about his company’s experience in New Jersey and its plans for the future:
Why did you decide to grow Sunny Life Pharma in New Jersey?
New Jersey is an exciting place for biotechnology companies, as it has pioneered the way for many large corporations that have achieved notable success in the field. With many of the world's major biopharmaceutical companies calling New Jersey home, the state is bursting with opportunity for businesses like ours.
What do you consider Sunny Life Pharma’s biggest success to date?
We pride ourselves on our very strong chemistry team, which allows us to provide excellent services for biotechnology companies across the nation. In addition, the quality and speed of our work regularly meets and exceeds our customers' expectations.
What’s on the horizon for Sunny Life Pharma?
We are continually aspiring to improve the scope and quality of our work. This will, in turn, allow us to provide services to even more biopharmaceutical companies.
The EDA offers a multitude of resources to help technology and life sciences grow and thrive in New Jersey. To learn about these resources, visit http://www.njeda.com/tls and follow @NJEDATech on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
