BioNJ President and CEO, Debbie Hart, added, "I am so proud to bring this groundbreaking program, which was the brainchild of our Chairman James Sapirstein, forward. We had the unique opportunity to work in collaboration with the Industry Pharmacists Organization whose leaders have over 50 years of combined experience in successfully managing fellowship programs and recruiting high quality fellows. Not only were we able to place Ms. Katz in our Program, but a second candidate, Shelja Patel, Rutgers University -- Class of 2018, was placed in a separate fellowship with Photocure which is led by BioNJ Board member Ambaw Bellete, as a result of our interview process. This was a serendipitous and very exciting outcome. Congratulations to Irina and Shelja."
The life sciences industry continues to be a critical economic engine for New Jersey with over 350,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs. However, the performance of the overall industry has grown more slowly than the U.S. economy; primarily due to increased competition from other states in the number of start-ups. BioNJ's Fellowship Program provides the opportunity to recruit talented potential entrepreneurs to learn about the industry and to potentially start their own company right here in the State in the future.
"We would like to thank our participating companies for their commitment to our program, our Fellow and to supporting the growth of New Jersey's ecosystem," added Hart.
To learn more about BioNJ's Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program or to discuss how to develop a program tailored to meet your organization's needs, contact BioNJ@BioNJ.org.