Experience, talent, resources to fund research, willingness of people to help each other —  these are some of traits of the Greater Philadelphia region as described by leaders in cell and gene therapy, gene editing, and connected health in two new videos promoting the region’s leadership role in these sectors.  The bite-size videos – one is two minutes and the other is three – were initially developed by the CEO Council in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal to showcase the region to bio and pharma leaders during BIO 2019 in Philadelphia.  They are now available to members of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and CEO Council’s collaborating institutions, organizations, and companies to use to spread the word about the region’s assets.

The videos are the latest tools supporting the CEO Council’s multi-year initiative to strengthen the region’s innovation economy through efforts including shared storytelling that builds awareness of the region’s assets in cell and gene therapy, gene editing, and connected health; providing resources to start-up and scaling companies; assessing the talent needs of the sectors; and supporting the development of critical infrastructure to enable growth.

Among the leaders who lend their voices to the effort are Rui Jing Jiang of Avisi Technologies, Carina Edwards from Quil, Jeffrey D. Marrazzo of Spark Therapeutics, Ronald Kander of Thomas Jefferson University, Usman Azam of Tmunity Therapeutics, and Andrew Luber of Virion Technologies.  All feature in the two-minute video, “The Leader in Cell & Gene Therapy and Connected Health,” which speaks to the collaborative environment, academic credentials, intellectual capital, emerging infrastructure, and ease of doing business that led to them establish and grow their organizations in Greater Philadelphia.  They aptly convey the momentum in the region in this invitation to others to join them here.

Comcast’s David L. Cohen launches the second video, “Growing in Greater Philadelphia,” by talking about the hospitable environment for growing a business in the region, especially in the biotech space.  Others describe how it’s all here, from an abundance of hospitals, universities, research centers, and drug companies that draw talented professionals to opportunities for partnerships.  Viewers learn about the region’s history of firsts, innovation, access to capital, strong work ethic, and well-trained local talent.  FDA breakthroughs are evidence of the strength of the Greater Philadelphia region as a hub for helping to change the way diseases get treated.  Among the senior leaders featured in this three-minute video are Steve Collis from AmerisourceBergen; Madeline Bell from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Janice Nevin, MD, of Christiana Care; Jean-Pierre Issa, MD, of the Coriell Institute for Medical Research; Kevin Mahoney from the University of Pennsylvania Health System; and Felix Hsu of WuXi Advanced Therapies.