Editor's note: As 2022 comes to a close, InnovationMap is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston innovation. In Houston, home to the world's largest medical center, health tech and innovation news is abound — from startups being named among the most promising by investors to new details on the Texas Medical Center's expansion. Here are five Houston health tech-focused articles that stood out to readers this year — be sure to click through to read the full story.
Houston organizations announce 10 most promising life science startups
Houston's medical innovation community congregated to discuss breakthrough innovations in health care. Photo via Getty Images
What startups are creating the future of health care? A Houston conference this week gathered to discuss.
The 10th annual Texas Life Science Forum hosted by BioHouston and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship engaged thought leadership within the life science community with panels, discussions, and more. Additionally, 49 companies pitched their solutions across medical device, therapeutics, pharmaceuticals, and more to the crowd.
The event also named the 10 most promising life science companies selected by investors and presented by the Greater Houston Partnership. Read more.
Houston hospital system to open new innovative location
Houston Methodist broke ground on a 400-bed hospital in Cypress. Rendering courtesy of Houston Methodist
Houston Methodist will soon break ground on a “smart” hospital in Cypress that is poised to be the smartest of its nine hospitals.
The $650 million Cypress hospital will be modeled after Houston Methodist West and Houston Methodist The Woodlands hospitals. However, the Cypress location is on track to outdo them in terms of smart technology.
“Our commitment to innovation is one more way we set ourselves apart from other hospital systems, and we are committed to making this new hospital the most technologically advanced and innovative hospital ever,” Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, says in a note to employees. Read more.
Following $50M gift,Tilman Fertitta reveals goals for eponymous medical school at University of Houston
Fertitta and his family have gifted $50 million to UH's medical school. Photo courtesy
As Houston’s most high-profile billionaire and owner of the posh 5-star Post Oak Hotel and Houston Rockets, Tilman J. Fertitta has become synonymous with over-the-top opulence and big-time entertainment.
But the CEO of the massive Feritta Entertainment empire’s latest move has nothing to do with penthouses or point guards, but rather a legacy, game-changing appropriation meant to aid his home state’s health.
The longtime UH board member and former chairman and his family have just pledged $50 million to the University of Houston College of Medicine. In turn, the new medical school has been christened the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. Read more.
TMC unveils details of new bioport, Helix Park at annual Greater Houston Partnership event
TMC gave an update on TMC3 — now called TMC Helix Park — and introduced a new bioport project. Courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects
Within the next five to 10 years, the Texas Medical Center you know today will be double the size. That's what Bill McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, said at yesterday's State of the Texas Medical Center event hosted by the Greater Houston Partnership.
The biggest project contributing to the TMC's growth is TMC3, a campus expansion that will bring 37 acres and 5 million square feet of space to the TMC, is now known as Helix Park. The name is a nod to the shape of the park and walkway design at the center of the campus. The TMC3 Collaborative Building — the first multi-institutional research facility in TMC’s history — will be the first of the project to deliver and is currently under construction and slated for completion in 2023.
However, the big news of the event was the TMC BioPort, the organization's upcoming biomanufacturing and medical supplies distribution engine. This new campus will span several hundred acres just down the road from TMC and will drive the much-needed repatriation of critical medical supplies and new cell and gene therapies, per a news release. Read more.
Overheard: Houston experts discuss women in med tech, insight from investors, and more
Health care innovators joined Houston Methodist and Texas A&M University's ENMED program to discuss women in health care innovation and venture capital investment. Photo courtesy of Houston Methodist
Houston's health innovation community is making strides every day toward greater quality of care and technology adoption — but what challenges is the industry facing these days?
Through a partnership between Houston Methodist and Texas A&M University's ENMED program at Houston Tech Rodeo, health innovators weighed in on topics surrounding the industry, including biases and investment opportunities.
Missed the conversation? Here are seven key moments from the panels that took place at A&M's new ENMED building in the Texas Medical Center on Thursday, March 3. Read more.