Brand Insights

, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on addressing the challenges associated with manufacturing advanced therapies, sought to install an Enterprise Resource Planning system to support its continued expansion and rapid growth and provide the highest level of responsive service to clients.

 was the partner of choice to implement the installation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to support the CBM’s efforts to provide the highest level of manufacturing support for its life sciences clients. Navigator was tapped by CBM to drive the installation of SAP Business ByDesign, a GMP validated system that supports the organization’s finances, client project management, supply chain planning, logistics, warehousing, manufacturing and quality and procurement. SAP Business ByDesign is an out of the box, fully-integrated system, that is capable of supporting regulated manufacturing and development processes

Steve Gwynn, Director of Enterprise Systems at CBM, touted the services provided by Navigator and noted that this engagement will be pivotal as the organization continues on a robust growth pathway. In Navigator, Gwynn said CBM found a partner that would be able to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the organization through its robust growth plans, which includes a current build-out of 700,000 square feet of manufacturing space, as well as ramped-up hiring of hundreds of new employees. With recent available capacity for viral vector and cell therapy GMP manufacturing coming online and significant financing from South Korea-based SK Pharmteco, Inc. the organization is well on its way to becoming the largest single site advanced therapy CDMO. This ongoing productivity and expansion necessitated the addition of the ERP system. Gwynn said Navigator will be able to provide for CBM’s current and future needs as the organization provides end-to-end production services for their customers, all in one location lowering risk and optimizing efficiency for CBM’s customers.

Throughout the implementation of the ERP system, Gwynn said Navigator provided essential training on the new program through easy-to-understand videos and guides. It made for an easy understanding of the system and also allowed for quick feedback from their own teams. All of the details associated with training were coordinated by Navigator and the company provided standard operating procedures for training purposes, Gwynn said.

With Navigator’s assistance, CBM’s ERP was up and running within 10 weeks, which Gwynn said was impressive. What made it even more impressive is the fact that there were few issues with the implementation that delayed the rollout. Gwynn said that was due in no small part to Navigator’s structured approach that utilized accelerators, including numerous worksheets and checklists.

“ERP systems are not known for going in quickly and effectively. On the front it seems simple…. But it’s very complex because there are so many integrated areas. If you don’t do it right, it can fall apart quickly,” he said. “We needed to be able to do this right the first time. With Navigator’s expertise, it worked out well.”

CBM, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, has been selected as the partner of choice by many clinical and commercial advanced therapy companies to support their development and manufacturing needs. CBM offers pre-clinical through commercial manufacturing capabilities including process development, plasmid DNA, viral vector, cell therapy and a full suite of testing and analytical capabilities. The contract manufacturing and development organization received a significant feather in its cap last year when it partnered with the University of Pennsylvania Gene Therapy Program, helmed by world-renowned scientific researcher Dr. Jim Wilson which has provided CBM with access to a gene therapy platform that can be used to help its clients accelerate their therapies to patients even faster.

Articles

Center for Breakthrough Medicines Beats Biotech Market Headwinds and Goes Live with ERP to Meet Growing Demand 

A $1 billion public investment in life sciences—an announcement that told the world New York City was staking its claim as a global leader in the life sciences industry.

The plan: $450 million to spur new research, $530 million to construct new labs and incubator spaces, and $20 million to build a pipeline of diverse talent. First announced in June 2021, the City reaffirmed the commitment this March, as part of Mayor Eric Adams’s Blueprint for Economic Recovery.

The investment is future-looking, but it’s also based firmly in reality—the reality of the growth of the industry in recent years, and all the city has to offer life sciences companies.

"We have witnessed first-hand the benefits of being headquartered in New York City,” said Nancy Thornberry, Founding CEO and Director of Kallyope, an early-stage company that pursues novel therapeutics for diseases. “Access to the city’s extraordinary talent pool, technologies, and academic centers has proven invaluable in our ability to deliver on our mission.”

Talent pool, technologies, academic centers—plus space, funding, and diversity. Together, these are the foundation of 

, the City’s initiative, led by New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), to carry out the billion-dollar investment and establish NYC as the global leader in life sciences.


With a workforce of over four million, NYC is home to the nation’s largest, and a notably diverse, talent pool, including 7,000+ graduate students and postdocs, 500,000 healthcare workers, and 1 million college students in the metro area.

Drawing on and developing this talent pool is vital for the NYC ecosystem and central to the mission of LifeSci NYC.

In 2017, NYCEDC launched the LifeSci NYC Internship Program which prepares NYC undergraduate and graduate students for careers in the field—and builds a direct talent pipeline for the life sciences industry.

To date, over 420 interns across over 120 host companies have participated in the program, with 47 percent of internships turning into full-time roles.

LifeSci NYC is also actively seeking an organization to 

develop a new set of training programs and learning opportunities

, to hone participants’ skills and foster career growth in the industry.

This current and future workforce, and the city’s overall melting-pot population of 8 million+, in turn drive a diversity of research, clinical trials, and development across disciplines—to a degree unmatched by other cities.

“New York’s biotech ecosystem is unique in its diversity—in the kinds of discoveries being made, in the kinds of scientists involved, and in the kinds of impacts that these will potentially have on the world,” said Kevin Gardner, Director of Structural Biology Initiative at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center. “LifeSci NYC has played a transformational role in recognizing the strength of this diversity.”


To ensure there’s space for diversity to lead to discovery, the City is investing in new wet labs and making existing space available for early-stage companies, meeting high demand.

, a partnership between the State University of New York and NYCEDC that offers research and manufacturing space to biotech companies. BioBAT is located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, a 55-acre manufacturing campus on the Brooklyn waterfront.

The investment will be used to build new lab space at the 250,000-square-foot facility, to serve more companies in research and advanced manufacturing.

Across the river, in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, the City partnered with Deerfield Management to redevelop a 12-story building into Cure at 345 Park Avenue South, an innovation campus that provides offices, wet labs, and programming to support startups.

Overall, since the start of LifeSci NYC, the City has opened or announced the opening of 1.7 million square feet of space, and anticipates bringing 10 million square feet of wet lab space online over the next 10 to 15 years.

Companies looking to expand in NYC work not only with the LifeSci NYC team, but also with NYCEDC’s Business Development team, which helps companies access and navigate available 


And then there’s funding. Widely regarded as the financial capital of the world, NYC boasts an array of VC firms invested in the life sciences space, with an increasing focus on NYC-based startups.

Over the past two years, the life sciences sector in NYC has seen over $2 billion in private VC funding—up from $130 million in 2016—and over $5 billion in NIH funding.

Beyond traditional sources, capital also flows through unique public-private partnerships. In March, five early-stage, minority-led startups working on neurodegeneration each received a $100,000 grant through the 

, a partnership between NYCEDC and Deerfield.

“For many underrepresented founders, securing the funding needed to advance life-saving research can be extremely challenging,” said Susan Rosenthal, NYCEDC’s Senior Vice President of Life Sciences and Healthcare. “Now, women- and minority-led life science startups right here in New York City will be further supported in their research.”

More than just funding, the award brings access to the Cure ecosystem: wet and dry labs, office and retail space, business support, and connections to learn from established companies.

This is a microcosm of life sciences in NYC: a future-changing opportunity made possible through public-private partnership, a unique funding stream, and state-of-the-art space—while drawing on the city’s unmatched diversity and advancing equity in the industry.

“In NYC, the stage is set—and set like no other city—for life sciences companies of all sizes to thrive,” said Rosenthal. “We’re here to help you be a part of it.”

With a $1 billion public commitment, diverse talent and science, space, and VC funding, NYC is emerging as a global capital of life sciences