bionorthTX debuts region’s growing life sciences industry at BIO 2016

bionorthTX will use the upcoming Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) 2016 International Convention in San Francisco, 6-9 June to spotlight the region’s burgeoning life sciences industry and world-class universities.

“To outsiders our region may be known more for the financial market, software, oil & gas and the stockyards than life science and healthcare innovation,” said bionorthTX co-founder and COO Kay Tieman. “Participating in the BIO annual convention will give us an opportunity to show the world’s biotech and pharma professionals we are a leading center of health care and life sciences industry development, which should also drive public and private capital to our members.”

North Texas is home to 1,000 life sciences related companies with more than 26,000 employees focused on therapeutics, diagnostics, devices, clinical research, contract manufacturing and health care IT. The region includes a range of companies from multinational corporations such as Abbot Laboratories, Alcon, Celanese Chemicals, Covance Clinical Research, Essilor, Galderma Laboratories, McKesson Corp., and Smith & Nephew, to emerging companies like Neos Therapeutics, Reata Pharmaceuticals, ZS Pharma and Thermi, to startups. In addition, a critical element of the foundation for life sciences industry development is a strong network of collaborative universities. North Texas’s academic institutions, global leaders in life sciences research, include University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center, UT’s Arlington and Dallas campuses, along with Baylor Scott & White Health and Research Institute and the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.

“Among our major initiatives,” Tieman said, “is our 2nd annual iC3 Life Science Summit, which last year brought 275 stakeholders together to discuss Innovation, Collaboration, Capital formation and Commercialization (iC3) in North Texas. It will be held on October 26th at UT Arlington and we anticipate 350-400 in attendance.”

Examples of the region’s growing health care industry include the recent expansion of Galderma’s $22 million research and development center, expected to add up to 350 employees, and McKesson’s opening of a new distribution center with 950 employees.

Thermi, a company developing thermistor-regulated energy solutions for aesthetics, dermatology and women's health, also is expanding following its acquisition by Barcelona-based Almirall for $88 million; and Neos Therapeutics, an emerging company developing treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, held a successful initial public offering in 2015.

“We have an exciting story to tell about North Texas’s vibrant health care and life sciences industries,” Tieman said. “This is a primary objective for bionorthTX and attending BIO 2016 is just a first step.”