A global pharmaceutical company is moving into Center City next year — and it could be a “game-changing” development for Philly’s biotech scene, a leader in the space says.

Eli Lilly and Company announced last week a new Lilly Gateway Labs location at 2300 Market Street. The site will serve as an incubator for local early-stage biotech companies, offering lab space, resources like capital and access to the company’s scientists and executives. 

“We see it as a tremendously positive signal.”

Tiffany Wilson, president and CEO of the University City Science Center

“They’re really going to be able to help us turn innovation into impact faster through the investment,” Tiffany Wilson, president and CEO of the University City Science Center, told Technical.ly. “nNot only dollars, but the in-kind support that they provide to companies that they’re supporting to get them to the point where they can grow and scale.”

This announcement is “strong external validation” for the life science ecosystem in Philly, and could improve systems that build life sciences companies in the region, she said.

The Science Center has an existing relationship with Eli Lilly through Avid Radiopharmaceuticals. The diagnostics company started at the Science Center in 2004, was acquired by Eli Lilly in 2010, but maintained its presence in University City over the years, Wilson said. 

Eli Lilly chose Philadelphia as its next incubator site because of those existing connections and the region’s reputation in the life sciences industry, according to Julie Gilmore, vice president and global head of Lilly Gateway Labs.

Philadelphia’s track record showed Eli Lilly that there is a lot of potential here that the company thinks it can help harness, Gilmore said. Support and collaboration from the city government, orgs like the Science Center and a strong workforce pipeline are also factors that make Philadelphia stand out. 

“We’re embedding Lilly in innovation hubs specifically to get close to early science that we find compelling,” she said. “We are very thoughtful about where we take Gateway and have been evaluating Philadelphia for a while. We believe it checks all of our boxes.” 

Philly’s positive life sciences reputation persists 

The Eli Lilly move is a much-needed win for biotech companies, especially after a shaky year for Philadelphia life sciences, with workforce reductions and struggles to retain federal support.

The region’s gene therapy star Spark Therapeutics announced plans to restructure after its parent company Roche designated the firm as a financial loss. 

Shortly after, Spark announced plans to lay off about half of its employees and that the remaining workers would be incorporated into Roche. And Spark isn’t alone. Companies like Century Therapeutics and Adaptimmune announced significant layoffs this year, too. 

But these barriers haven’t significantly tainted Philly’s industry reputation. Other major orgs still want to build a presence here, too. For example, Thermo Fisher Scientific, a global equipment and services company, announced a partnership and opened its second Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center with BioLabs Philadelphia earlier this month.  

The Eli Lilly Lab is just another one of those opportunities for smaller startups to get their big break. Eli Lilly is already working with stakeholders in Philly’s biotech community to select therapeutics companies for the space.

“Companies are thoughtfully selected with the intent of building a community grounded in scientific promise and top-tier talent,” Gilmore said. “We are able to tailor our expertise to meet a biotech’s needs, whether scientific strategy, organizational or professional.” 

Building opportunities for local companies 

Philly’s life sciences notoriety largely comes from major research institutions, like the University of Pennsylvania, which have spun out successful companies. It supported Spark Therapeutics in developing the first FDA-approved gene therapy, Luxturna, and Penn researcher Carl June, who made the first FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy Kymriah. 

The region was also recognized for its life sciences prowess by the Economic Development Administration when it was designated as a Tech Hub in precision medicine in 2023. 

Now, Eli Lilly’s interest in the Philadelphia region could be major progress toward helping local companies grow and scale, Wilson from the Science Center said. 

Biotech companies require a lot of money, both to research and develop therapies, but also to commercialize the technology and bring it to market, she said. Investment from big pharma is a major piece to making those things happen, and the ecosystem is betting Eli Lilly will help with that.

The opening of the new lab space also puts Philadelphia in the same conversation as major biotech hubs like Boston, San Francisco and San Diego, where Eli Lilly also has Gateway Labs sites. 

If the biotech companies here can collaborate well with Eli Lilly and prove that the systems are in place to develop successful companies, that will build the region’s reputation and attract more major players. 

“We see it as a tremendously positive signal,” Wilson said. “We are really looking forward to welcoming them to Philadelphia and collaborating with them to support the companies in their space and really make sure that they’re integrated into the fabric of our life sciences and healthcare technology ecosystem.”