Growing up in the suburbs of New York in the 1970s, as one of us (IO) did, was not necessarily a good time to fall in love with the city. It was a time of historic blackouts, the Son of Sam, and the infamous Daily News headline FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD. But it was also a decade during which the Yankees went back to the World Series, and the city began rebounding. In many ways, it hasn't looked back.

The life sciences industry's relationship with New York is more complicated, even the reverse. Things tend to start well. The city's 25 biomedical institutions and 147 hospitals get more than $1 billion in funding from the NIH annually, and the area's institutions have been granted more biotechnology patents than any other region. Some of the graduates and faculty of those institutions create an average of 30 biotech startups per year.

But then something happens right around the time most of those companies begin to mature. You don't find many of those startups still in the city. They've crossed the Hudson River to New Jersey, as Columbia University Nobelist Eric Kandel's own Memory Pharmaceuticals did. Or they've crossed the country to the San Francisco Bay area, as Joseph Schlessinger's Sugen Inc. and Plexxicon Inc. did. Schlessinger himself has decamped for New Haven's Yale University. And so while New Yorkers like to think they have the best of everything, from the media, to sports, to the financial services industry, to entertainment and culture, the same can't be said to be true of the life sciences industry.

There are some seemingly obvious reasons why startups move away: the high cost and relative short supply of real estate chief among them. But some of the data belies these reasons, and there are other intangibles that may actually play a larger role in these decisions and in the decisions by other companies not to locate in New York. Some industry leaders say the city and state has not done enough – or as much as other cities, anyway – to lure and keep the biotech industry.

What you're holding in your hands is an in-depth look at the untapped promise of the life sciences in New York City. A complicated story needs space and resources to tell, and we're grateful to our sponsors, including Pfizer Inc., a mid-town Manhattan stalwart, for supporting our efforts. We start with a "True-False" quiz to test your knowledge, and then move on to a number of features on the academic institutions, financial and legal resources, and trends.

One of us (RG) is a recent convert to the city. Just as there is surprise and delight on every visit, as well as some comfortably familiar vistas, we believe that you will be sometimes surprised and occasionally delighted, as well as having some of your preconceptions confirmed, in these pages.

While responsibility for the content rests solely with the editors, we gratefully acknowledge the following group of advisors, who provided much advice and support on this supplement.

Keith Brownlie, Metro New York Area Emerging & Growth Markets Life Science Industry Leader, Ernst and Young

Ron Cohen MD, President and CEO, Acorda

Daniel Devine, CEO, Acceptys

Karen A. Duncker, Executive Director, New York Biotech Association

William R. Fair III, Vice President, New York City Economic Development Council

Joseph M. Feczko MD, Vice President, Pfizer Inc and President, Worldwide Development, Pfizer

Maria G. Gotsch, Senior Vice President, New York City Investment Fund

Eileen Hilton MD, President and CEO, BRANY

Jane M. Love PhD, Counsel/Junior Partner, Wilmer Cuttler Pickering Hale and Dorr

Daniel C. Lubin, Managing Partner, Radius Ventures

Matthew McCooe, Director, New Ventures, Columbia University Science and Technology Ventures

Ellis Rubinstein, President, New York Academy of Sciences

Joanna Rubinstein PhD, DDS, Senior Associate Dean for International and Global Initiatives, Columbia University Medical CenterMonique Salazar, Assistant Vice President, New York City Economic Development Council

Tim Wright PhD, Senior Member, Research Division, Hospital for Special Surgery and Professor at Weill Medical College

Gary Zammit PhD, President and CEO, Clinilabs

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Bill Fair and Monique Salazar of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, for providing background information, making introductions, and other invaluable assistance.