Houston as a Center for Science
M. D. Anderson and UT Health Science Center are committed to the creation of a research nexus that brings together the critical mass of basic, translational and clinical sciences available in Houston with appropriate commercial and technological interests.

Why Houston?

• Within a few miles of the Texas Medical Center (TMC) lie two major undergraduate and graduate universities and a health science center:
  • Rice University, adjacent to and west of the TMC, is among the nation’s leaders in nanotechnology research and offers outstanding academic programs in engineering, physics, chemistry and mathematics.
  • University of Houston, 3 miles to the east, has equally strong programs in structural biology and engineering, and a School of Pharmacy in the TMC.
• Each year, hundreds of graduate students, research fellows and physician scientists complete their studies and launch their careers under the guidance and mentoring of some of the world’s leading scientists and clinicians.
• The City of Houston and Harris County have committed $45 million towards UT Research Park infrastructure, and the Texas Legislature is providing an additional $20 million for infrastructure.
• BioHouston — a regional coalition consisting of academic institutions, biotechnology companies, service providers and community organizations — is focused on building commercial biotechnology in Houston.
• NASA fosters partnerships and cooperative activities with private enterprise to develop technology applicable to both NASA missions and global commercial competitiveness.

TMC Area and Offerings

Located in Houston on a partially wooded 100-acre site, UT Research Park is adjacent to the prestigious Texas Medical Center. With more than 5 million patient visits annually, the TMC has one of the highest densities of clinical facilities, basic science and translational research in the world. The Park provides easy access to other outstanding academic and medical institutions, including: Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, University of Houston, Memorial Hermann Hospital, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Texas Heart Institute and The Methodist Hospital.

Non-profit organizations within the TMC annually invest more than $1 billion in biomedical research. With funding from a multitude of private and governmental sources, UT Research Park will boast state-of-the-art laboratories, offices, training centers and conference or business resource/support facilities to assist new companies in testing the viability of their ideas.

M. D. Anderson and UT Health Science Center are among more than 40 outstanding biomedical institutions in the TMC:

• M. D. Anderson, which has more than 1,000 faculty and 13,000 total employees, is the nation’s top-ranked cancer hospital (U.S. News & World Report 2003 “Best Hospitals” survey). UT Health Science Center has 1,200 paid faculty and 1,280 faculty appointments without salary, as well as 3,200 additional employees.
• M. D. Anderson is the number one recipient of research grants from the National Cancer Institute. Sophisticated, innovative clinical trials bring science to the bedside rapidly and effectively; some 12,000 among its more than 60,000 patients annually are enrolled in research protocols.
• M. D. Anderson will open a new 485,740-square-foot basic sciences research building in 2004, also containing the UT Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences and modern animal facilities.
• UT Health Science Center ranks in the top 10% for National Institutes of Health awards and has a full array of medical and biological graduate schools. It collaborates productively with the Texas Heart Institute, a leading cardiovascular research and treatment center.
• UT Health Science Center’s Institute for Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, directed by C. Thomas Caskey, M.D., conducts basic research to understand cellular and molecular mechanisms, thereby creating more effective treatments and new strategies for prevention. A new 229,250-square-foot IMM building opened in 2006, has two wings — one for technology and one for core research labs — and features a 200-seat auditorium.
• UT Health Science Center is nationally recognized as a leader in BioSecurity and public health preparedness.

New collaborations in proton therapy and imaging that involve faculty from M. D. Anderson, UT Health Science Center and other TMC institutions are examples of the magnetization of this area to industry. TexGen — an effort of UT Health Science Center, Baylor College of Medicine and M. D. Anderson — is another partnership facilitated by the proximity of the institutions. It focuses on collecting DNA samples from 50,000 cardiovascular and cancer patients annually to identify gene products critically involved in these diseases.

Facts and Figures about the Texas Medical Center:

• 5.4 million total patient visits in 2000
• 19,307 international patients
• 61,041 total positions within Texas Medical Center Institutions (includes 8,800 staff in part-time and contract positions; not included are approximately 10,000 professionals and support personnel who work in adjacent professional buildings
• 6,041 licensed beds; 426 bassinets
• 16,547 students attended regular classes
• 88,198 participants enrolled in educational or professional retraining
• 140,000 visitors to the Museum of Health & Medical Science, includes 64,189 students attending its educational programs.
• 2,305 short courses, seminars, and workshops offered
• 11,535 volunteers assisting with a wide variety of tasks benefiting the TMC
• $4.6 billion combined operating budgets for member institutions
• $11.5 billion indirect impact on Houston's economy
• 7.8  billion member institutions' capital investment
• $573 million expended for research activities of TMC member institutions
• $2.2 billion has been received by the Texas Medical Center member institutions as grants for research during the past five years (Baylor College of Medicine, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and UT Houston Health Science Center are leaders in the research category)
• $1.1 Billion spent in adding or renovating the facilities of member institutions and to the infrastructure of Texas Medical Center from 1999-2002

Technology in Texas

Texas is home to an exciting, dynamic and expanding base of biotechnology industries. Today, more than 500 biotechnology, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and bioscience-related companies are thriving in the state. Revolutionary advances in drug discovery, diagnostics, human health care, agriculture and environmental protection are under way in Texas, with the majority of these activities based in and around the Houston region.

The diversity of Texas’ biotechnology industry includes companies engaged in:
Drug discovery Clinical trials Genetics research Pharmaceuticals Diagnostics Forensic science Medical devices Contract research Nanotechnology/biotechnology partnerships	Contract manufacturing Genetically engineered crops Transgenic animal production Bioinformatics Biomedical engineering Medical supply Environmental protection Bioremediation Chemical processes

Texas Business Advantages

Texas has a tradition of offering unequaled business advantages for nearly eight hundred years. From its prime Gulf coast location, within two days' drive of 80% of the U.S. marketplace, to the highly competitive "bottom line" advantages which Texas offers as a business location, these are some of the reasons that over 600 companies have announced decisions to expand or build new facilities in Texas, committing investments of almost $111.4 billion in the past three years.

Texas Biotech Resources