Our bioscience future

Looking bright.

Biotechnology continues to grow in Texas, contributing to the state’s overall economy by adding jobs, making strides in research and innovation and last year attracting $1 billion in federal funding for research, a new report on business development from a biotechnology trade association found.

As the Texas economy struggles under the weight of an oil and gas industry downturn, the biosciences of medical research, treatment innovation and pharmaceutical development are seen as a bright light that stands to soon glow brighter.

The Texas bioscience industry reported 81,000 jobs in 2014 across 4,865 businesses, which translates to 1 percent growth since 2012, according to a report released [recently] by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the national trade association, which compiled the study along with Teconomy Partners to measure growth over previous years.

The findings were made public in San Francisco at the organization’s annual convention, which attracts 15,000 biotechnology and pharmaceutical professionals from around the world.

“Texas is one of the top-tier states in the size of its bioscience and biomedical research and innovation base,” the report concluded.

[…]

In that time the state has set its sights on becoming a true competitor with the more established institutions of research and pharmaceuticals on the East and West coasts. “The third coast” has become a popular rallying cry for those working to turn Texas in general and Houston in particular into a bio-science destination.

“Houston is becoming a major player not just from a research perspective but also in its clinical prowess,” said Melinda Richter, head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS.

JLABS opened a state-of-the-art, 34,000-square-foot business incubator not far from the Texas Medical Center’s main campus in March. The project offers laboratory space, equipment and guidance for biotechnology and life science startups in their march toward commercialization.

The luring of a JLABS facility was seen as a coup not only for the innovation expected to blossom there but also for bragging rights.

“That is huge,” Kowalski said of the opening of JLABS @ TMC. “They don’t just go anywhere.”

Nationally, biotechnology exploded in the early 2000s but slowed during the recession years. The report says the industry is now regaining lost ground.

In 2014, the industry employed 1.66 million people at more than 77,000 businesses across the country, the report found. Wages continue to be robust with a $95,000 average annual salary.

You can find a copy of the report here. This is all to the good, though we’re a ways away from being able to mitigate the effects of the energy industry slowdown. Imagine how much better things could be if our state leadership wasn’t so relentlessly hostile to science, too. Until that time, we’ll take the growth we can get.

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