Look to Texas for Biotech Innovation
Published on January 22, 2020

 Claire Aldridge, AVP, Commercialization and Business Development at UT Southwestern Medical Center

 Innovation is the lifeblood of a vibrant economy, producing jobs and prosperity that reshape communities.

I have watched firsthand how innovation has transformed Dallas-Fort Worth from a region largely dependent on oil and gas into a highly diversified economy. For two decades, I’ve been directly involved in launching life science startups and boosting Dallas as a center for biotech development.

So I was privileged to help organize the annual conference of TAMEST – The Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas – earlier this month in Dallas. The two-day event highlighted the transformative power of innovation in Texas as well as how our state is advancing biomedical research.

Texas has a long history of technology innovation, from the invention of the integrated circuit to advances in oil and gas drilling that have made our country more energy independent. On the medical front, Nobel Prize-winning discoveries made in Texas laboratories have spawned life-altering treatments, such as research at UT Southwestern that led to the development of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

More recently, Texas has emerged as a national leader in cancer care and research boosted by the state-funded Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Since its creation in 2007, CPRIT has awarded more than $2.4 billion in grants to support cancer research and prevention, making Texas the second-largest funder of cancer research after the federal government. Grants have been used to recruit dozens of top researchers including Jim Allison, an immunologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston who won the Nobel Prize in 2018. In November, Texas voters approved an additional $3 billion in funding for CPRIT, which will allow us to leverage groundbreaking research into new treatments over the next decade.

In Dallas, our ecosystem that supports biotech development has reached an inflection point. Our region has the essential elements in place to grow this industry: a premier academic medical center, UT Southwestern, that produces top-tier science; a growing and educated workforce; and a winning combination of low taxes, great airports, and affordable real estate that has made us a top destination for business.

To nurture biotech innovation, we need more human and financial capital to turn ideas into successful businesses. For years, life science startups in Texas have struggled to attract critical early stage funding, but there are signs this is beginning to change. Successful exits such as last year’s $2 billion acquisition of Dallas-based Peloton Therapeutics by Merck are showing local investors the potential returns in biotech. Peloton is a great example of what can be achieved in Texas: The company was launched on discoveries made at UT Southwestern and received funding from CPRIT to help develop its kidney cancer drugs.

Major VC firms are taking notice of the opportunities in our state. At TAMEST, we were excited to hear Jim Breyer, a leading technology investor known for his early investment in Facebook, announce that he plans to open an office of Breyer Capital in Austin because he believes Texas will be a hot spot for technology innovation in the years ahead.

With traditional biotech hubs on the coasts growing saturated, the industry is looking for other areas to expand. Dallas is putting the pieces in place to support biotech innovation.

Inspired by stimulating discussions on innovation and the potential for biotech at the annual conference of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas in Dallas.  #biotech  #medtech  #TAMEST  #lifesciences  #innovation  #dallas  #venturefunding

Link to Read More:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/look-texas-biotech-innovation-claire-aldridge/

Conference session videos are now available on our YouTube channel, including Kerry Rupp speaking on a panel titled “Why Does Texas Underperform in VC Funding and What Can We Do About It?”

Start watching at:

  • 18:08 To learn about True Wealth Ventures’ investment thesis – investing into women-led teams in sustainable consumer & consumer health.
  • 20:05 To learn about finding a VC fund that’s a fit for commercializing technology that’s spinning out of a university.
  • 38:00 To see why “team, team, and team” are the 3 most important criteria True Wealth Ventures looks at when considering an investment.
  • 45:40 For some novel ideas on how to bring more capital to Texas!

Watch the video here.