Life Sciences

The Battelle Institute's 2008 state-by-state assessment of bioscience initiatives showed that Texas is one of the leading states when it comes to bioscience education. Texas ranked third in the nation for the number of bioscience graduates and for university R&D expenditures in biosciences.

Austin is home to both the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas System. In the Austin metro, you'll find a combined enrollment of 118,000 students in four year and community colleges. This provides an ample supply of well-educated workers to area employers. The student population within 100 miles of Austin exceeds 330,000, providing one of the world's strongest talent pools.

As a world-class research institution, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) has annual research expenditures of more than $497 million. The University consistently ranks in the top 10 for the number of science and engineering doctoral degrees and is the fourth most patent-earning university in the country. UT Austin's world-class programs include bioengineering, nanotechnology, bioinformatics and pharmaceutical research – in fact the College of Pharmacy is one of the premier institutions of pharmaceutical education and research in the country. UT Austin is home to more than 100 organized research units including several of which will impact Austin's future in bioscience technology development and commercialization.

• The Biochemical Institute
• The Center for Biological and Medical Engineering
• The Center for Molecular and Cellular Toxicology
• The Center for Nano and Molecular Science and Technology
• The Center for Strategic and Innovative Technologies
• The Drug Dynamics Institute
• The Imaging Research Center
• The Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology
• The Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences
• The Institute for Neuroscience
• The Institute for Theoretical Chemistry

Austin's attractiveness as a place to live and work is a huge draw for the life sciences industry. Austin is a metropolitan region of 1.6 million people with great diversity in life sciences, including more than 100 companies in the areas of research, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical device and other related industries. Overall, the tech sector employs more than 100,000 or 18% of the private sector workforce.

Austin's Life Sciences Industry

Highlights

• Abbott Spine unveiled the Universal ClampT spinal fixation system in the U.S. The Universal Clamp is an innovative device that simplifies the correction of scoliosis and other spinal disorders.
• ArthroCare Corp. received U.S. FDA clearance to market a new implant system. The Magnum PI Knotless Implant System uses implants made of polyetheretherketone, instead of metal, to attach soft tissue to bone.
• Asuragen spun out Mirna Therapeutics – named after the microRNA it will work with – to find new ways to utilize the genetic material in fighting diseases like cancer.
• Luminex received U.S. FDA approval for xTAG Respiratory Virus Panel that can simultaneously detect and identify 12 viruses and viral subtypes that together are responsible for more than 85% of respiratory viral infections.

An active partnership exists between academia, the city and state government, and the life sciences community to grow the life sciences sector in Austin. BioAustin, an Austin Chamber initiative, is focused on fostering an environment that attracts and supports bio-related companies, researchers and entrepreneurs.

• The University of Texas and the City of Austin fund the Austin Technology Incubator that works with early stage companies to increase their rates of success and decrease their time to capital and markets.
• UT Austin's Office of Technology Commercialization serves as a bridge between the research community and the University and commercialization partners, ensuring smooth and fast transfer of intellectual property created at the University.
• The Texas Life Sciences Commercialization Center, located in Georgetown, provides assistance and shared resources to post-incubation companies.