Sweeney Tours NJEDA Tech Center and Port of Newark

North Brunswick – Senate President Steve Sweeney today toured both the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA’s) Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) and the Port of Newark.

CCIT is a biotechnology incubator facility that provides technical support, business support, educational and networking opportunities for biotech startups.  CCIT supports its tenants’ commercialization and advancement of discoveries in the Life Sciences Sector and is centrally located between Rutgers and Princeton.

“CCIT is the leading incubator in the region dedicated to life sciences and biotechnology companies, taking advantage of many of New Jersey’s strengths and attributes,” said Senator Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “We have some of the best science and research resources at our universities and many of the most advanced biopharma companies in the world. The collaboration of higher education, state government, medical facilities and the private sector will help put New Jersey on the cutting edge of life sciences.”

CCIT is part of the NJEDA’s Technology Centre of New Jersey, a 50-acre 300,000 SF life sciences research park offering easy access to both New York City and Philadelphia. The center is run by the NJEDA and is New Jersey’s flagship incubator for startups.  CCIT currently has 20 tenants and has supported 80 startups since its opening. Also within the park, NJEDA recently launched the Biotechnology Development Center (BDC).  BDC is post-incubation lab and offices for rapidly growing biotech companies.

“Recapturing New Jersey’s leadership position in the global innovation economy is critical to our state’s future, and the NJEDA has developed a number of new tools including NJ Ignite and the Innovation Challenge to complement vital programs like the Angel Investor Tax Credit and the NOL Tax Credit that help support young, growing companies,” said Tim Sullivan NJEDA CEO. “To drive outsized job creation, we need to focus on developing new tools that can help New Jersey start-ups attract more of the venture capital investment that these potential home-grown success stories rely on.”

The tour included visits to two companies, Genomic Prediction, located at CCIT, which provides advanced genetic testing for in vitro fertilization, and BDC tenant Adlai Nortye, a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs in the field of oncology.

In a day focused around job growth and the state’s economy, Senate President Sweeney also toured the Port of Newark. He heard from Kevin O’Toole, the Chair of Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners, regarding the issues facing both the Port of Newark and the greater Port Authority and discussed how the legislature can help address them.

“The Port of Newark is one the main arteries of the New Jersey economy,” said Senator Sweeney. “We have to make sure that this port is run as efficiently and as effectively as possible. That means addressing issues head on and investing in the infrastructure needed to keep the port running at its greatest possible capacity.”

Senator Sweeney was joined on the tour by Senator Patrick Diegnan.

“The Port of Newark is the largest port on the East Coast and continues to experience tremendous growth,” said Senator Diegnan (D-Middlesex). “Increased investment in freight rail infrastructure will benefit New Jersey and the region by improving shipping efficiency tenfold.”

The Port of Newark is the principal container ship facility for importing and exporting goods in the New York metropolitan area and the greater northeast.