Submitted by BioMed SA

San Antonio, the 7th-largest U.S. city, is home to an expanding healthcare and bioscience industry that employs about 15 percent of the local workforce, with an annual economic impact of $14 billion. 

San Antonio’s science-rich atmosphere has spawned a number of successful companies. In July, one of them, OsteoBiologics Inc., an innovative developer of bone-replacement and tissue repair technologies, was acquired for $72.3 million by British-based Smith & Nephew PLC, a global leader in orthopedic devices. OBI will remain in San Antonio.

The state of Texas recently endorsed San Antonio medical device firms CardioSpectra Inc. and Xilas Medical Inc., by selecting them for a total of $2.35 million in grants from the state’s new Emerging Technology Fund. Only a handful of companies have received grants from the fund, which helps businesses move technological innovations into the marketplace. 

San Antonio-based pharmaceutical developer and contract manufacturer DPT Laboratories further expanded its local presence this year with a new research and development, warehouse, and production facility at Brooks City-Base.  A former military installation, Brooks is being re-developed into a world-class science and technology center through an unprecedented partnership between the City of San Antonio and the U.S. Air Force.

In the same collaborative spirit, community and industry leaders have formed BioMed SA, a non-profit corporation dedicated to growing and promoting the city’s vibrant healthcare and bioscience sector.

This fall will mark the first class of students at the Feik School of Pharmacy at the University of the Incarnate Word.  The new program, the nation’s first to offer a Spanish-language certification track, adds a new dimension to San Antonio’s array of health professions educational programs, which also include a medical school, dental school, nursing schools and allied health programs.

The city also is a major destination for medical meetings, including this fall’s American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting and Exposition, and the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the world’s largest gathering devoted to the topic. Symposium organizer and major sponsor is San Antonio’s Cancer Therapy & Research Center, the world leader in conducting Phase I cancer drug clinical trials.

San Antonio’s global impact on science and health continues to grow, thanks to the powerful combination of its unique assets, diversity of resources, and collaborative spirit.

Read About San Antonio Research Spotlight Sidebar For Innovation Texas Magazine, Fall 2006

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