JLABS, Johnson & Johnson's innovation center venture, is opening a branch in SoHo. I met Dr. Kate Merton, Director of JLABS@NYC at a recent kick-off event. She is a highly skilled scientist and entrepreneur who is passionate about supporting innovative life sciences company. As a former Johnson & Johnson lawyer, I'm very pleased to see Johnson & Johnson taking this approach.

In recent years, Johnson & Johnson has taken a very active role in reaching out to the community of innovators and entrepreneurs in the life sciences. New York joins San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, Houston and Toronto on the list of cities where JLABS is active. The overarching concept at each site is the same: Provide access to lab space and connections to expertise, investors and third-party services on a no-strings-attached basis. And all these resources are critical to the life sciences innovation environment in the Big City.

Dr. Merton and her team are hosting an open house in their 30,000 square foot space at the New York Genome Center on January 18. It will be a great opportunity to see this space and get to meet the staff. If you're interested in attending, please email my office at [email protected] for further details and a link to the registration site for a tour of the facility.