A Looming Biotech Boom in Dallas?
UT Southwestern and the Future of Biotech in North Texas
Energy and momentum are building for biotech innovation in Dallas and North Texas. A couple weeks ago, I had the honor to be a member of the Host Committee for UT Southwestern’s (“UTSW”) annual Pitch Competition. The event featured 9 pitches from UTSW’s thought-leading scientists & researchers in three categories — 1. Therapeutics, 2. Diagnostics / Medical Devices, and 3. Digital Health. The presenters are in the early stages of commercializing a technology that has been developed from their research.
The energy in the room at this event was palpable. The novel technologies and startups that the researchers championed still have a long way to go before reaching commercial success and impacting millions of patients’ lives through commercial scale, but the potential of each unique technology is clear. These pitches are early, yet meaningful, steps toward a thriving life sciences ecosystem that UTSW and other partners hope to build in North Texas.
Many Dallas citizens are unaware of the incredible scale of the scientific research driven by UTSW. For the third year in a row, UTSW recently was recognized as the top health care institution globally by Nature Index for publishing high quality research across all medical disciplines. The institution leads over 5,800 distinct research projects pursued by over 2,900 full-time faculty. The extreme breadth and depth of UTSW research make the institution special. Research disciplines span diverse fields like cell biology, biochemistry, physical science, and neuroscience, and UTSW ranks highly in each distinct field. To date, UTSW faculty have received six Nobel Prizes.
The scale of UTSW research illustrates that the nine presenters, although each very impressive in his own right, represent just the tip of the iceberg of the scientific breakthroughs being discovered across the organization. Importantly, UTSW research has driven many commercial successes in the past including companies like Peloton Therapeutics and Exonics Therapeutics acquired by Merck and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, respectively. That said, UTSW strategically hopes to make those commercial successes even more common by unlocking the innate commercial potential of its world-class science. Initiatives like the Pitch Competition and other events organized by UTSW’s “Blackstone Launchpad” are critical levers to begin catalyzing that potential. By facilitating a more mature commercial biotech ecosystem, UTSW can create a continual growth cycle that drives its scientific research engine at even greater scale.
Over the past 2 years, I have had the great fortune to become more engaged with UTSW through my career at the Actium Group. Our team at Actium plays a small advisory role in UTSW’s efforts toward Technology Development. This experience has been inspiring for me as my career in the world of life sciences is just beginning. The involvement in UTSW’s efforts energizes me to continue giving back to this great institution and motivates me to continue my learning and growth journey in the support of biology and technology innovation.
This small role is also immensely meaningful to me because it allows me to carry on a legacy of supporting UTSW that began with my Grandmother and continues with my Mom. I am deeply grateful that my family instilled in me a passion to serve such an important institution for our Dallas community. I hope to inspire others to learn more about and to engage with the incredible efforts being made by UTSW and the surrounding North Texas ecosystem of life sciences innovation. The biotech boom in Dallas is at its beginnings, and a community of thoughtful, committed individuals and organizations are necessary to make a thriving ecosystem a reality. If the spirit moves you, starting learning more and join in the journey!
P.S. Many other incredible initiatives are going on outside of UTSW that are working toward building a biotech ecosystem in North Texas. Notably, the new Pegasus Park campus is creating a center for life sciences innovation in Dallas. I left other efforts out of this post, but I will surely talk more about related topics and efforts in more detail in the future.
Below are a few great articles to learn more about UTSW, Pegasus Park, and life sciences innovation in North Texas:
UT Southwestern ranked No. 1 in Texas, fourth in nation for tech transfer
UT Southwestern ranked top health care institution globally for published research by Nature Index
Images Credit: D Magazine Partners, Pegasus Park, UTSW