Investment in biotech facilities is not a crap shoot, as you suggest in “Bribing Biotech” (Editorial, Oct. 17).

New York City is a world-renowned center of life-sciences research and discovery. However, the city loses out to other states when it comes to business development and jobs in the biotech industry because they have beaten us to the punch.

Massachusetts, North Carolina and California made major public investments in life sciences that have attracted billions in private investment.

New York is late to the game, but it still has a chance. That is the reason Mayor Bloomberg, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Gov. Spitzer have led the public commitment to the East River Science Park, which will be a center for commercial activity and will stop the flow of intellectual property, jobs and tax revenues out of our city and state.

Kathryn Wylde,

President & CEO Partnership for N.Y.C. Manhattan