Houston's Texas Medical Center wins prestigious global award recognizing leaders in life science innovation

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Texas Medical Center Innovation won a Prix Galien Award, which has been described as being comparable to the Nobel Prize for the life science community. Photo by Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

Last month, a global organization honored innovation leaders in life sciences, and the Texas Medical Center was among the recipients of the prestigious awards program.

The 18th annual Prix Galien Awards Gala awarded TMC Innovation with the win in the "Incubators, Accelerators and Equity" category. The Galien Foundation created the awards program in 1970 in honor of Galien, the father of medical science and modern pharmacology. Alongside TMC, the other winners represented biotech, digital health, startups, and more.

"We are super proud of this distinction," Tom Luby, director of TMC Innovation says at Envision 2024 last month, crediting the TMCi team and TMC leadership for the award. "We lean on a lot of advisers and experts — people who volunteer their time to work with startups. Without (them), we would not have been successful."

Luby explains that a Prix Galien Award holds a Nobel Prize level of significance for the community.

TMCi was named a finalist in August, and competed against programs from Cedars-Sinai, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, TechConnect, and more.

"The Awards Committee is honored to witness the exceptional dedication and creativity of our nominees as they turn visionary ideas into transformative solutions for patients worldwide," says Michael Rosenblatt, chair of the Prix Galien USA Awards Committee, in a news release. "Their unwavering commitment to advancing patient care is truly commendable, and we are honored to celebrate their outstanding contributions to global health."

The award is displayed at TMC Innovation's office, located in the medical center at 2450 Holcombe Blvd.

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One of Houston's biggest medical office projects — the $1.3 billion, 400,000-square-foot O’Quinn Medical Tower — is expected to deliver this year. Photo courtesy of Baylor College of Medicine

Report: Houston to see highest concentration of medical office project completions this year

opening soon

Medical office and life sciences projects are making a big splash in Houston’s commercial real estate sector in 2023.

The 42Floors commercial real estate website ranks five Houston-area medical office buildings among the country’s 20 largest medical office projects set to open this year. Meanwhile, 42Floors identifies two Houston developments among the 20 biggest U.S. life sciences projects on tap to debut in 2023.

Leading the list of the largest U.S. medical office buildings scheduled to be completed this year is the $1.3 billion, 400,000-square-foot O’Quinn Medical Tower. Set to open April 14 at the McNair Campus of Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, the outpatient facility will adjoin the McNair Hospital Tower, which opened in 2019.

The O’Quinn tower will serve as the new clinical home of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The center is a federally designated facility for cancer care and research.

Highlights of the 12-story O’Quinn tower, southeast of the Texas Medical Center, include:

  • Ambulatory surgery center with 12 operating rooms and 10 endoscopy suites
  • 80-bay setup for infusion therapy
  • More than 70 exam rooms
  • More than 850 parking spaces

In all, five medical office properties in the Houston area made the 42Floors list, representing the highest concentration of major projects in any U.S. metro area that are scheduled to open this year. The four medical office properties joining the O’Quinn tower on the list are:

  • Houston Methodist Sugar Land Medical Office Building 4, 159,252 square feet
  • Kelsey-Seybold Springwoods Village Campus, 157,983 square feet
  • Kelsey-Seybold Ambulatory Surgery Center in Clear Lake, 116,000 square feet
  • 1715 Project in Friendswood, 107,000 square feet

A separate 42Floors list ranks Dynamic One, part of Baylor College of Medicine’s TMC Helix Park, as the second largest life sciences project in the U.S. set to come online this year. Houston’s TMC3 Collaborative Building lands at No. 19.

The 12-story Dynamic One project will feature lab space, offices, restaurants, and stores. It represents the first of four buildings planned for the 37-acre, five-million-square-foot TMC Helix Park, which is projected to generate an economic impact of $5.4 billion.

The 42Floors list puts the square footage of Dynamic One’s north tower at 365,000. Organizations involved in the project cite the square footage as 355,000.

The Baylor College of Medicine has signed up as Dynamic One’s anchor tenant. It will occupy 114,000 square feet of lab and office space.

“Baylor College of Medicine is a major force in life sciences discovery and commercialization at TMC. Their move to TMC Helix Park will serve as a catalyst for enhanced collaboration with TMC’s other esteemed Institutions, as well as with industry leaders from around the world,” Bill McKeon, president and CEO of TMC, says in a news release.

Also located at TMC Helix Park, the four-story TMC3 Collaborative Building will span 250,000 square feet. It will contain research facilities for MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and TMC.

In addition, the TMC3 Collaborative Building will house life sciences companies, the TMC Data Collaborative, the TMC Venture Fund, the Braidwell hedge fund, and venture capital and private equity firms.

A recent real estate report found that, following healthy gains, Houston's medical office market might see less action in the near future. Photo via Getty Images

Report: Houston's hot medical office market might be on track to cool

by the numbers

Houston’s medical office market is on a roll.

A report from commercial real estate services company JLL shows net absorption and transaction volume saw healthy gains in 2022:

  • The annual absorption total of 289,215 square feet was 50.5 percent higher than the five-year average.
  • Transaction volume notched a 31.7 percent year-over-year increase.

Meanwhile, net rents held steady at $26.92 per square foot, up 1.3 percent from the previous year. The fourth-quarter 2022 vacancy rate stood at 15.9 percent.

Despite those numbers, the report suggests a slowdown in medical office rentals may be underway.

“Tenants who may have previously considered building out or expanding their lease agreements are now in a holding pattern due to increased construction costs and higher interest rates,” the report says. “These factors are having a direct impact on financial decisions when it comes to lease renewals, making it more likely that tenants will remain in their existing location for the foreseeable future.”

Still, the report notes “a number of bright spots for the future of healthcare in Houston.” Aside from last year’s record-high jump in sales volume, the report indicates an aging population coupled with a growing preference for community-based treatment “will lift demand even higher in coming years.”

The report shows that in last year’s fourth quarter, 527,083 square of medical office space was under construction in the Houston area, including:

  • 152,871 square feet in the Clear Lake area.
  • 104,665 square feet in the South submarket.
  • 103,647 square feet in Sugar Land.
Last fall, JLL recognized Houston as a top city for life sciences. According to that report, the Bayou City lands at No. 13 in JLL’s 2022 ranking of the country’s top 15 metro areas for life sciences. JLL says Houston “is poised for further growth” in life sciences.
A new report shows Houston has attracted federal support as the life science industry expands locally. Photo via Getty Images

Report: Federal funding, increased life science space drive industry growth in Houston

by the numbers

Federal funding, not venture capital, continues to be the main driver of growth in Houston’s life sciences sector, a new report suggests.

The new Houston Life Science Insight report from commercial real estate services company JLL shows Houston accounted for more than half (52.7 percent) of total funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) across major Texas markets through the third quarter of this year. NIH funding in the Houston area totaled $769.6 million for the first nine months of 2022, exceeding the five-year average by 19.3 percent.

VC funding for Houston’s life sciences sector pales in comparison.

For the first nine months of this year, companies in life sciences raised $147.3 million in VC, according to the report. Based on that figure, Houston is on pace in 2022 to meet or surpass recent life sciences VC totals for most other years except 2021. JLL describes 2021 as an “outlier” when it comes to annual VC hauls for the region’s life sciences companies.

JLL notes that “limited venture capital interest in private industry has remained a challenge for the city’s life sciences sector. Furthermore, it may persist as venture capital strategies are reevaluated and investment strategies shift toward near-term profits.”

While life sciences VC funding has a lot of ground to cover to catch up with NIH funding, there are other bright spots for the sector.

One of those bright spots is the region’s rising amount of life sciences space.

The Houston area boasts more than 2.4 million square feet of space for life sciences operations, with another 1.1 million under construction and an additional 1.5 million square feet on the drawing board, the report says. This includes a soon-to-open lab spanning 25,000 square feet in the first phase of Levit Green.

A second bright spot is the migration of life sciences companies to the region. Two Southern California-based life sciences companies, Cellipoint Bioservices and Obagi Cosmeceuticals, plan to move their headquarters and relocate more than half of their employees to The Woodlands by the first half of 2023, according to the report.

“Houston’s low tax rate and cost of living were primary drivers for the decisions, supported by a strong labor pool that creates advantages for companies’ expansion and relocation considerations,” JLL says.

A new report says Houston “is poised for further growth” in life sciences. Photo via Getty Images

Houston named a market to watch within the life science sector

h-town on the rise

Houston is receiving more kudos for its robust life sciences sector.

Bayou City lands at No. 13 in JLL’s 2022 ranking of the country’s top 15 metro areas for life sciences. JLL says Houston “is poised for further growth” in life sciences.

Here’s how Houston fares in each of the ranking’s three categories:

  • No. 12 for supply of life sciences-oriented commercial real estate
  • No. 14 for access to life sciences talent
  • No. 15 for life sciences grant funding and venture capital

Earlier this year, Houston scored a 13th-place ranking on a list released by JLL competitor CBRE of the country’s top 25 life sciences markets. Meanwhile, commercial real estate platform CommercialCafe recently placed Houston at No. 10 among the top U.S. metros for life sciences.

JLL applauds Houston for strong growth in the amount of life sciences talent along with “an impressive base of research institutions and medical centers.” But it faults Houston for limited VC interest in life sciences startups and a small inventory of lab space.

“Houston is getting a boost [in life sciences] from the growing Texas Medical Center and an influx of venture capital earmarked for life sciences research,” the Greater Houston Partnership recently noted.

Boston appears at No. 1 in this year’s JLL ranking, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Washington, D.C./Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

Last year’s JLL list included only 10 life sciences markets; Houston wasn’t among them.

“The long-term potential of the sector remains materially unchanged since 2021,” Travis McCready, head of life sciences for JLL’s Americas markets, says in a news release.

“Innovation is happening at a more rapid pace than ever before, the fruits of research into cell and gene therapy are just now being harvested, and revenue growth has taken off in the past five years as the sector becomes larger, an atypical growth track.”

The Bayou City also ranks as the No. 1 life science market in the state. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Report: Houston ranks in the top 10 life sciences markets in the U.S.

rising star

Houston has received a big thumbs-up in a new study ranking the country’s top metro areas for life sciences companies to launch or grow.

The study, published by commercial real estate platform CommercialCafe, puts Houston at No. 10 among the top U.S. metros in the life sciences sector and No. 1 in Texas. Boston topped CommercialCafe’s ranking, with Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 16, San Antonio at No. 29, and Austin at No. 37.

For the study, CommercialCafe examined various factors that support the success of a life sciences ecosystem. The study encompassed 45 major metros in the U.S. Among the highlights for Houston:

  • No. 9 ranking for educational attainment, with 733,577 of residents ages 25 year and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree in science, engineering, or an engineering-related field.
  • No. 12 ranking for life sciences projects under development (a little over 817,000 square feet). Overall, the life sciences sector occupies roughly 2.3 million square feet in the Houston area.

Last month, commercial real estate services company CBRE put Houston at No. 13 among the country’s top 25 clusters for life sciences research talent. DFW appeared at No. 16 and Austin at No. 18.

In assessing Houston’s strength in life sciences, CommercialCafe says that “the resilient Texas powerhouse was lifted by the wave of emerging life sciences clusters across the U.S.”

Two major projects are helping Houston maintain that powerhouse status. The Texas Medical Center (TMC) last year unveiled TMC3, a 37-acre, roughly 6 million-square-foot life sciences campus, and Houston-based Hines recently topped out the 270,000-square-foot first phase of the 53-acre Levit Green life sciences district next to TMC.

“Houston is already fortunate to have such a strong healthcare and higher education ecosystem. The TMC3 project stands to be the cornerstone of our regional life sciences strategy. It will create new jobs, [and] advance innovative medical technologies and healthcare solutions,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in 2021.

According to Greater Houston Partnership data, the Houston area is home to Houston has more than 1,760 life sciences companies, hospitals, health care facilities, and research institutions. Collectively, the life sciences and healthcare sectors employ 320,500 people in the region.

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Persona AI teams with Under Armour to protect next-gen robots

Future Fabrics

Houston-based Persona AI has cemented a partnership with sportswear manufacturer Under Armour to provide materials to protect future robots operating in dangerous conditions.

Through the partnership, Persona AI and Under Armour will launch a research initiative to explore whether advanced performance textiles can improve the durability and resilience of humanoid robots operating in harsh industrial environments.

“This is an opportunity to apply our innovation expertise in a new context,” Kyle Blakely, senior vice president of innovation, design studio, development, and testing at Under Armour, said in a news release. “Robotics presents a fascinating new design challenge, and we aim to play a leading role in shaping performance solutions for these environments. As humanoid systems take on more physically demanding roles, we see real potential to create new market opportunities, and we’re exploring how concepts like thermal management, abrasion resistance, and flexibility translate beyond sport."

Founded in June 2024 by former NASA engineer Nicolaus Radford and former Figure AI CTO Jerry Pratt, Persona AI has quickly risen to be a top name in the development of humanoid robotic systems. Radford previously was the principal investigator at NASA’s Dexterous Robotics Lab before becoming CEO of Nauticus Robotics. While at NASA, he was the chief engineer behind Robotnaut 2, the first humanoid robot on the International Space Station.

Persona AI raised $25 million in preseed funding to develop humanoid robots designed to operate in shipyards and other industrial sites. The company has inked partnerships with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai Robotic, and Korean manufacturing firm Vazil Company to create and deploy humanoid robots for complex welding tasks in shipyards.

These environments often involve exposure to dangerous chemicals, harsh weather and other potential hazards. The partnership between Persona AI and Under Armour will combine the clothing manufacturer’s development of resilient but flexible materials with the humanoid design of Persona AI.

Though best known for its sportswear, Under Armour produces a wide range of specialist fabrics and clothing, including an entire line used by the U.S. military. The company’s track record of developing high-performance fabrics built to withstand war zones and desert conditions makes it a strong partner in Persona AI’s latest endeavor.

“We chose to work with Under Armour because of their track record of innovation with these types of performance materials,” Radford said. “As we develop humanoids for intense and potentially hazardous environments, this collaboration helps us understand how advanced materials can enhance long-term reliability, thereby informing solutions to better protect workers in the field.”

Global summit spotlights Houston's growing role in brain health, innovation

where to be

The Center for Houston’s Future and UTMB are bringing the Texas Brain Economy Summit back to Houston this summer to continue to position the region as a global leader in brain health.

The summit, held June 9-10 at the Texas Medical Center's Helix Park, will bring together more than 500 executives, researchers, policymakers and innovators from around the world to discuss the global brain economy.

Attendees can expect to hear from leaders of global institutions, including the World Economic Forum, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, McKinsey Health Institute, Global Brain Economy Initiative, Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, Business Collaborative for Brain Health (UsAgainstAlzheimer’s), Rice University, Memorial Hermann, MD Anderson and many others.

Day 1 of the conference will focus on "Enabling Human Flourishing & Economic Growth." Day 2 will focus on "Scaling Innovation & AI Solutions in the Brain Economy."

Keynotes will be delivered by:

  • Lexi Branson, vice president of health policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  • Kana Enomoto, director of the McKinsey Health Institute
  • Megan Henshall, founder of Google Experience Institute (Xi)
  • Ryan Howard, co-lead of Google Experience Institute (Xi)
  • Dr. Hani Jneid, John Sealy Distinguished Centennial Chair in Cardiology and vice president of cardiovascular operations at UTMB
  • Steve Kean, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership
  • Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor of Texas
  • Jochen Reiser, president of UTMB
  • Thomas Seitz, senior partner of the McKinsey Health Institute

Other significant speakers include:

  • Rym Ayadi, founder and president of the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) and co-founder of the Brain Capital Alliance
  • Arthur Evans, CEO and executive vice president of the American Psychological Association
  • David Gow, president and CEO of the Center for Houston’s Future (Gow is the founder and chairman of Gow Media, InnovationMap's parent company)
  • Bill McKeon, president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center
  • Jeff Merritt, head of urban transformation at the World Economic Forum
  • Joanne Pike, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association
  • George Vradenburg, founding chairman of Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative and co-founder, chairman and CEO of Us Against Alzheimer’s

The event is supported through Project Metis, which was launched by the Center for Houston’s Future last year. Led by Rice Brain Institute, The University of Texas Medical Branch's Moody Brain Health Institute and Memorial Hermann’s comprehensive neurology care department, the initiative aims to advance the understanding, prevention and treatment of the brain. It was developed on the heels of Texas voters overwhelmingly approving a ballot measure to launch the $3 billion, state-funded Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT).

“Texas voters, by approving the state-funded Dementia Prevention Institute, have shown a strong commitment to brain health, as scientific advances continue daily. [Project Metis] aims to harness the Houston region’s unique strengths: its concentration of leading medical and academic institutions, a vibrant innovation ecosystem, and a history of entrepreneurial leadership in health and life sciences,” Gow said at the time.

Learn more about The Texas Brain Economy Summit and purchase tickets here.

Texas solar power poised to surpass coal for the first time in 2026

Powering Texas

Solar power promises to shine even brighter in Texas this year.

A new forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that for the first time, annual power generation from utility-scale solar will surpass annual power generation from coal across the territory covered by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Solar generation is expected to reach 78 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026 in the ERCOT grid, compared with 60 billion kilowatt-hours for coal, the EIA forecast says. The ERCOT grid supplies power to about 90 percent of Texas, including the Houston area.

“Utility-scale solar generation has been increasing steadily in ERCOT as solar capacity additions help meet rapid electricity demand growth,” the forecast says.

Although natural gas remains the dominant source of electricity generation in ERCOT, accounting for an average 44 percent of electricity generation from 2021 to 2025, solar’s share of the generation mix rose from four percent to 12 percent. During the same period, coal’s share dropped from 19 percent to 13 percent.

EIA predicts about 40 percent of U.S. solar capacity, or 14 billion kilowatt-hours, added in 2026 will come from Texas.

Although EIA expects annual solar generation to exceed annual coal generation in 2026, solar surpassed coal in ERCOT on a monthly basis for the first time in March 2025, when solar generation totaled 4.33 billion kilowatt-hours and coal’s totaled 4.16 billion kilowatt-hours. Solar generation continued to exceed that of coal until August of that year.

“In 2026, we estimate that solar exceeded coal for the first time in March, and we forecast generation from solar installations in ERCOT will continue to exceed that from coal until December, when coal generation exceeds solar,” says EIA. “We expect solar generation to exceed that of coal for every month in 2027 except January and December.”

For 2027, EIA forecasts annual solar generation of 99 billion kilowatt-hours in the ERCOT grid, compared with 66 billion kilowatt-hours of annual coal generation.

In April, ERCOT projected almost 368 billion kilowatt-hours of demand in ERCOT’s territory by 2032. ERCOT’s all-time peak demand hit 85.5 billion kilowatt-hours in August 2023.

“Texas is experiencing exceptional growth and development, which is reshaping how large load demand is identified, verified, and incorporated into long-term planning,” ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas said. “As a result of a changing landscape, we believe this forecast to be higher than expected … load growth.”

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This article first appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

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