Some of the most cutting-edge biosciences work and biomedical research is happening in San Antonio, and the growing local biotech industry is poised to explode in upcoming years, experts said in a panel discussion Wednesday.
“The health care and bioscience sector is the largest economic driver in San Antonio,” explained Heather Hanson, the president of industry organization BioMedSA. “Nearly 1 out of every 5 employees works in this sector, so this is the backbone of the economy … that’s why it’s important.”
The complexity of the topic sometimes means those outside the biosciences industry don’t pay attention to the opportunities like high-paying jobs and better health outcomes that are created when San Antonio’s biosciences nonprofits and for-profit companies collaborate, said Dr. Larry Schlesinger, president and CEO of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.
“It’s a continuum, and we need to think of ourselves as a continuum,” Schlesinger said. “We all complement each other in very powerful ways: You need the research engine to create innovation. That innovation drives application. You need to then have enterprises that can take that science and move it to a way that we can help humans stay heathy by bringing those solutions to the clinic. As I think about the future … this is a way that we keep San Antonians healthy.”
As companies in the biosciences work to add jobs, there needs to be a thoughtful approach to growth in Bexar County, said Randy Harig, the outgoing CEO of the Texas Research & Technology Foundation.
“We’re on an upward trend in San Antonio,” Harig said during the panel hosted by the San Antonio Report at LaunchSA. “You’ve got a lot of people moving in, but they’re moving in because we’re Texas and we have a low cost of living, we have no state income tax, we have — apparently — abundant water and power, but those challenges are going to be in front of us as we move forward.”
Watch the full video of “The Growth of Biosciences in San Antonio” here.
