If we are naming cities NYC should be included. With 8 leading medical research institutions, the second highest annual NIH funding, and a wealth of talent/capital in adjacent industries - NYC's foundation for Biotech is extremely strong.
Agree with you in general, however, Hb was established as it was because the NYC ecosystem needed affordable lab space. The equipment made available turnkey through the member fee each month would otherwise be a large capital investment for each company. Thus we are providing considerable concrete value and allowing projects to proceed that otherwise would not be able to. Above and beyond this we provide a community of other life science entrepreneurs and a physical hub for the broader biotech community here in NY that didn't exist yet in the city.
Whether or not our model changes in the future remains to be determined, however, as Dave mentions in his next comment the long timeframe tech risks inherent to investing in many early stage biotechs present some unique challenges to a YC model in biotech.
It's an interesting question. I certainly hope engagement will be consistent and develop into a watering hole for Biotech entrepreneurs from all over.
One thing we have in our favor for Biotech Pulse is the baseline community of 19 early stage companies and their teams here at Harlem Biospace. We are hoping since this community already exists in the shared space that this will be a strong seed for the online community to grow from.