Spotlight On: Audrey Greenberg, Co-Founder, Center for Breakthrough Medicines
Invest: spoke with Audrey Greenberg, co-founder of the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, to discuss the immense value Montgomery County and Philadelphia brings to the life sciences sector, both in investment and innovation. “Center for Breakthrough Medicines (CBM) provides preclinical through commercial development, manufacturing and testing of cell and gene therapies. CBM offers process development, plasmid DNA, viral vector and cell therapy manufacturing, and analytical services all under one roof to accelerate the development and commercialization of advanced therapies,” Greenberg said.
What makes Montgomery County a great location for the Center for Breakthrough Medicines?
Attracting and retaining talent is key to CBM’s growth, and Montgomery County offers the perfect environment for us to do so. We are surrounded by parks, trails, waterways, historic sites, entertainment, dining, cultural offerings and the finest public and private schools in the country. University City, the Jersey Shore, and the Poconos are just miles away offering urban exploration, beaches and mountains. This is coupled with an amazing suburban lifestyle including mission critical transportation infrastructure with easy access to our international airport, robust cold chain networks, the pharma belt, top-notch restaurants, hotels, and housing at various price points. The King of Prussia Mall and Town Center offer dining, shopping, and recreation.
CBM is in the center of the most advanced healthcare in the region. Philadelphia is the birthplace of our nation and the birthplace of cell and gene therapy, providing a rich history as well as an ecosystem of life science companies, including large pharma, startups, academic and training institutions and advocacy organizations. Merck, GSK, J&J, AmerisourceBergen, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Line Health plus a growing number of leaders in cell and gene therapy are located here.
The future of medicine is in Cellicon Valley. The Greater Philadelphia Region has seen an unprecedented increase in venture capital funding with $8 billion raised in 2021 and 43.5% year-over-year growth from 2020 to 2021. This is higher growth than the Bay Area, New York, Boston and Los Angeles and second only to Miami in deal value growth. One of the biggest problems facing cell and gene therapies is access to development services, manufacturing capacity and advanced analytics. Cell and gene therapies require specific expertise, equipment, raw materials, distribution networks and training.